Trump faces Republican resistance over Iran war spending and legislative demands

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Trump faces Iran war spending resistance

Highlights

Trump demands Congress approve $88bn in new federal spending, including $67bn for the Iran war, amid growing Republican dissent.
Four Republican senators support a war powers resolution to limit Trump's authority on Iran, sparking a heated Capitol Hill confrontation.
Trump withdraws support for a bipartisan housing bill, insisting Congress first pass the Save America Act requiring voter citizenship proof.

Capitol Hill tensions over war funding

As reported by Financial Times, the confrontation takes place while the administration is pushing Congress to approve $88bn in additional federal spending, including $67bn to cover the cost of the war with Iran.

The closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill descends into a shouting match between Trump and Republican senators, underscoring strain inside the party. The clash comes a day after four Republican senators break with the president to support a war powers resolution designed to limit his ability to restart hostilities with Tehran.

Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of the four Republicans, tells reporters after the lunch that Trump becomes enraged when asked to justify the prolonged Middle East conflict. Cassidy says the war was supposed to last four weeks but has now lasted four months, while the original objectives have not been achieved.

Cassidy also says Trump raises his voice after the challenge, and that he responds in kind as the exchange escalates. Senator John Kennedy later describes Trump as being "mad as a murder hornet" during the meeting.

Broader cracks in party discipline

Cassidy is now among a small group of senators described as the "Yolo caucus", an informal bloc of Republicans not seeking re-election in the November midterms and showing a greater readiness to defy the president. His break with Trump follows years of strained relations after Cassidy voted to convict him in his second impeachment trial in 2021, and after recently losing his primary race to a Trump-backed opponent.

The internal friction also emerges as Trump abruptly abandons plans to sign a bipartisan housing bill intended to expand affordable housing supply and curb Wall Street investors from buying up stock. He says he will not approve the measure unless Congress first passes the Save America Act, a divisive proposal that would require voters to show proof of citizenship at the ballot box.

Trump is also pressing allies abroad, saying he expects "loyalty" from Nato partners while criticizing the alliance for not moving faster to assist in the Iran war. The disputes at home and abroad point to rising political costs as the administration tries to hold together support for its military and domestic agenda.

Our earlier coverage of U.S. talks with Gulf Cooperation Council partners in Bahrain focused on Washington’s push for verifiable engagement with Iran while prioritizing Gulf security. We noted that keeping the Strait of Hormuz open as an international waterway and preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon were framed as non-negotiable, with maritime security and energy flows central to the diplomatic agenda.

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