WASHINGTON — During a closed-door meeting on Wednesday with Republican senators, President Donald Trump got into a shouting match with Sen. Bill Cassidy.
Lawmakers who were at the meeting told The Wall Street Journal that Trump called the Republican from Louisiana a “Loser” and also targeted Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul over their support of the Iran War Powers Resolution.
A lawmaker who witnessed it described the severity of the shouting match as a “7 out of 10,” and their behavior as “two boys on recess that are yelling at each other over a foul,”according to Fox News. Trump also described Cassidy as a “lunatic,” according to CNN.
Trump “was wondering why people would vote for the War Powers Act. I asked him if that would be a rhetorical question, a real question. He said, ‘Real!’ And so, as we begin to speak, the president didn’t want to hear my question, interrupted me,” Cassidy told reporters. “I didn’t care to be interrupted. I felt like I was trying to get answers for the American people, and I’m not going to be bullied when I’m trying to get answers for the American people, and so it escalated.”
Trump reiterated threats that he was not going to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, if lawmakers didn’t pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act.
“If he chooses to hold up his own agenda because he wants action on the Save Act, that’s, I guess, his call. It is not helpful to him. It’s not helpful to the country, and it’s not moving the needle. If you don’t have the votes, sir, you don’t have the votes,” Murkowski told CNN.
The bipartisan bill to make homeownership more affordable targets corporate landlords by restricting large institutional investors from buying single-family homes to rent out.
“We at times have differences of opinion,” said U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune about his relationship with Trump.
Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican appointed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to fill JD Vance’s vacancy, doesn’t think Trump is going to veto it.
“I am confident the president is going to sign the bill,” Husted said.
The Save America Act proposes more regulations on federal elections and includes a provision related to transgender athletes.
With Sen. Rick Scott standing by him, Trump described the meeting as “great” and said he is “very proud of the party” and added that negotiations with Iran were going “very well.”
“I don’t like a few people, but that’s okay,” Trump said. “I think you know who they are.”
Torres contributed to this report from Miami.
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