Senate Republicans defeat Iran war-powers resolution after Sen. Cassidy reverses vote

Sen. Bill Cassidy withdrew his support for a Democrat-led war-powers resolution aimed at restricting President Trump's actions in Iran after receiving a White House briefing on June 25, 2026. The Louisiana Republican had backed the measure the previous day but opposed advancing it in a key Senate vote that night, helping Republicans defeat the effort.

Cassidy secured the briefing by passing a note to Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff during a closed-door Senate Republican lunch meeting. The note stated he would consider changing his vote because he had not been briefed. Witkoff arranged the session for that evening.

The lunch meeting featured a heated exchange. President Trump expressed discontent with four GOP senators, including Cassidy, who had supported the resolution. Cassidy raised his hand to respond and listed objectives he believed were not being met.

Trump told him to sit down, and both men raised their voices. After the briefing, Cassidy said the plan presented appeared plausible for degrading Iran's nuclear capability, ballistic missiles, and conventional forces. He attributed his earlier support for war-powers resolutions to a lack of information and described his approach as seeking data before endorsing outcomes.

Cassidy, who lost his Senate primary to a Trump-backed challenger in May, said he should not have lost his temper during the meeting, nor should the president have raised his voice. He noted his prior support for such resolutions stemmed from not receiving briefings on the objectives.