President Donald Trump launched a blistering attack on four Republican senators after the Senate delivered a rare bipartisan rebuke of his handling of the Iran war.
In a Truth Social post, Trump branded Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) “Four Republican Losers” for joining Democrats in passing a war powers resolution directing him to end U.S. military involvement in Iran.
Trump said Iran was “on the ropes” and argued that the Senate vote signaled to Tehran that the United States disapproved of his actions, which he claimed “provided aid and comfort to the enemy.”
He added that the four senators “have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done!”
How the Senate vote occurred
The Senate approved the war powers resolution 50-48, with Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joining most Republicans in voting against it.
The vote marked the first time such a resolution had cleared both chambers of Congress, highlighting bipartisan concerns about Trump’s handling of a conflict launched without explicit congressional authorization.
It was the Senate’s 10th attempt to halt the war and represented a dramatic reversal from previous failed efforts. The measure directs the president to withdraw U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress declares war or authorizes military action.
Because the House passed the measure as a concurrent resolution, it does not require Trump’s signature and instead serves as an expression of congressional sentiment.
The absence of two Republicans proved critical. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was recently hospitalized for an undisclosed issue, missed the vote, as did Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania.
Both senators have opposed similar resolutions in the past, and their absence denied Republicans a full majority to block the measure. Had both been present and voted against it, the resolution would have failed in a 50-50 tie.
Growing Republican discontent
The Senate vote followed a House vote earlier this month that passed 215-208 after four House Republicans joined Democrats. Trump had previously condemned those members as “unpatriotic” and labeled them “GRANDSTANDERS.”
Several Republican senators have also broken with Trump over his 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran, including Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ted Cruz of Texas.
Cruz publicly said the president was receiving “very poor advice” on the issue.
Republicans have particularly objected to a proposed $300 billion fund to help rebuild Iran, a figure far larger than the $1.7 billion the Barack Obama administration refunded to Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal.
The memorandum established a 60-day timeline for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, a key justification cited for the war. Details of the agreement reportedly emerged shortly before Trump was scheduled to meet GOP senators at the Capitol as divisions within the party intensified.
A White House official dismissed the vote, telling reporters it had “no significance” because the resolution would neither reach Trump’s desk nor carry the force of law.
The official also argued that the resolution’s call to remove U.S. forces “from hostilities” was effectively moot, since a ceasefire had already ended the fighting.