WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump berated Senate Republicans face to face on Wednesday for allowing a vote to block his war in Iran, further escalating a feud that has diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year affordability issues and brought much of the chamber’s business to a halt.
Invited by Florida Sen Rick Scott to speak at a GOP luncheon in the Capitol, Trump had signalled ahead of time that he would use the closed-door meeting to push senators to pass his proof-of-citizenship voting bill. But the conversation was more focused on Tuesday’s vote to approve the war powers resolution, a mostly symbolic measure that allows Congress to rebuke the administration’s military actions. The House passed its own version of the resolution earlier this month.
Trump had particular words for the four Republican senators who voted with Democrats on the measure — Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — after calling them “losers” on social media.