President Donald Trump recently had a tense conversation with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) in the wake of five Republican senators siding with Democrats against the administration.
That's according to a Friday article in Politico, which reported that Thune acknowledged having a "very spirited" conversation with the president after Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) voted in favor of a procedural motion on a war powers resolution that would block Trump from waging war in Venezuela. Trump previously said on Truth Social that those five senators "should never be elected to office again."
"There’s a level of frustration at the White House — and with us, too, on a vote like that," Thune told Politico.
The war powers resolution itself still faces a long road to passage. Following this week's procedural vote, the Senate will still need to approve the actual motion, which would then need to pass the House of Representatives and get enough votes in both chambers to override a likely presidential veto. Thune hinted that he was pressuring those particular senators to change their minds.
"Obviously we’d love to have some of our colleagues come back around on that issue," the GOP leader said. "The constitutional questions, the legal questions, are being more sufficiently answered as people have probed into it."
Republicans named in Trump's Truth Social post have so far shrugged off his attacks. Sen. Paul quipped that the president had a "temper" and that his vote shouldn't be interpreted as a personal slight to the White House. Young told CNN that he doesn't "have any concerns" about Trump's threats to oust him from office.
"The President and members of his team have stated that the United States now ‘runs’ Venezuela. It is unclear if that means that an American military presence will be required to stabilize the country," Young said in an official statement defending his vote. "I – along with what I believe to be the vast majority of Hoosiers – am not prepared to commit American troops to that mission."
Click here to read Politico's full report.
