Republicans on Capitol Hill had been hoping to spend the summer touting a rare bipartisan legislative feat, but Donald Trump and his growing anger toward Senate Republicans torched that effort Wednesday. And more trouble could lie ahead, if a tense in-person meeting was any indication.
Trump descended on the Capitol for a Senate GOP lunch, where he vented frustration over both an Iran war powers resolution that passed the chamber this week — with the help of a few Republicans — and a stalled election security and voter ID measure known as the SAVE America Act.
It came as communication between the two sides of Pennsylvania Avenue continues to deteriorate. The latest surprise for Republican lawmakers had arrived just that morning: Hours before he was scheduled to sign a sweeping housing package into law from the Capitol, Trump abruptly canceled the event, saying he won’t sign it until Congress passes SAVE, “which I consider to be a National Emergency.”
It’s not the first time Trump has pulled attention away from senators’ agenda while demanding unwavering loyalty.
During the meeting, Trump got into a shouting match with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who he successfully primaried out of his seat, over whether the president has been forthcoming about the war in Iran and a pending peace deal to end it.
