‘You’re not my brother’: Trump clashes with GOP senators over Iran

Trump confronted Republican senators after they backed a measure limiting his Iran war powers.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump clashed with Republican senators opposed to the Iran war on Wednesday, with a closed-door lunch on Capitol Hill devolving into a tense shouting match over a bipartisan effort to limit his authority to resume the conflict.

The confrontation came after a handful of Senate Republicans joined Democrats in backing a war powers resolution aimed at restricting Trump’s ability to continue military action against Iran without further congressional approval.

According to lawmakers and media reports, one of the most heated exchanges involved Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who had voted in favor of the war powers measure.

Speaking to reporters afterward, Cassidy sarcastically said the conversation had gone “swimmingly.”

He later elaborated, saying Trump “did not particularly care for my comments” and recounting that the president had “raised his voice.” Cassidy acknowledged that he responded in kind.

“I lost my temper” due to “the Irish in me,” Cassidy said.

The Louisiana senator added that he had “matched [Trump’s] tone and his volume, and it went back and forth.”

According to accounts from lawmakers present and reports from CNN, Cassidy repeatedly addressed Trump as “brother” in an apparent attempt to calm the situation. Trump, however, was said to have snapped back, “You’re not my brother,” before ordering Cassidy to “sit down.”

Cassidy said his central concern was the lack of clarity surrounding the administration’s handling of the war and the objectives of U.S. involvement in Iran.

“The American people need to know more than we are being told. The Senate needs to know,” he said.

Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, a physician before entering politics, compared the atmosphere in the room to “a hospital board meeting when a bunch of doctors are yelling at each other,” confirming that “voices were raised” during the discussion.

Marshall added that he believed Trump was “very disappointed” by “the vote yesterday on the War Powers Act.”

Bill CassidyDonald TrumpIran warRepublian PartyUS-Iran War