Trump's clashes with Senate Republicans deepen over nominees and voting bill

Washington,UPDATED: Jun 20, 2026 02:20 IST

US President Donald Trump's relationship with Senate Republicans moved closer to a breaking point this week after he disrupted their effort to quickly confirm one of his own nominees and said he would not sign the renewal of a key surveillance law unless they agreed to new terms. The strain comes as Republicans head towards the November election while trying to defend their majorities.

The tensions are a sharp reversal from a year ago, when Senate Republicans worked closely with Trump to push through a major package of spending and tax cuts and criticism of him on Capitol Hill was almost non-existent. Now, with Trump pressing Congress on his demands and reversing course on nominations and policy, several Republican senators have begun openly criticising him.

The latest flashpoint came after Trump's overnight social media post on Wednesday saying he was delaying Jay Clayton's nomination to become national intelligence director, just hours before the US attorney's confirmation hearing. Senator Thom Tillis said after Clayton's confirmation was postponed, "I think somebody's not dialling the president into the complexities of what he's done here. I mean, my God." Later that day, some Republican senators, who had been hesitant to challenge Trump directly on the Iran war, sharply criticised his deal to end it. "This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades," Senator Bill Cassidy said in a post on X.

The rift has gone beyond nominations and now extends to policy priorities. Trump appears to have lost interest in most of the Republican agenda and has become almost singularly focused on his voting legislation requiring proof of citizenship, the SAVE America Act, which has almost no chance of passing. At the same time, he has asked Congress to fund parts of his White House ballroom project, allow a temporary intelligence director that none of them like and cede their powers on the Iran war. The growing split has slowed much of the Senate's business and increased pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has been direct with Trump about what can and cannot pass in the chamber.

Trump has repeatedly pressed Thune to scrap the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act. Thune has told him in public and private that the votes are not there for either step, but Trump has continued to push. In a social media post on Thursday, Trump said he would be "the last Republican president" if the bill did not pass. "Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Senate, must not let this carnage happen," Trump said. "They will go down on the wrong side of History, as will all Republicans who just stood by and watched." Even so, Trump has not attacked Thune personally in the way he often targeted Thune's predecessor, Mitch McConnell, whom he once called a "dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack". Trump and Thune still speak frequently, and as Trump kept pushing for the voting bill, Thune set aside weeks of Senate floor time for it to show support even though the votes were missing.

For now, there are no signs of a revolt within Senate Republicans. Cassidy, who has become a more regular Trump critic since losing a primary to a Trump-backed challenger, said Thune "has managed it better than anyone else could manage it". Criticism of Trump has, however, surfaced at times even among his closest Senate allies, especially over his proposed USD 1.776 billion settlement fund for his political allies and his choice of Bill Pulte as acting intelligence director, despite Pulte having no known intelligence experience. The tensions have also exposed fresh divisions within the party. Several Republican senators criticised Mike Lee in a private conference lunch this week over his online campaign to end the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act in an election year. Lee continued his social media push and said in a Friday post on X that giving up because Republicans lack the votes is a "recipe for failure". Texas Senator John Cornyn replied that it was Lee's job to find the votes, "if you can". "Can't just complain about others," Cornyn posted. "Prove us wrong."

Overall, what was once seen as a firm alliance between Trump and Senate Republicans is showing visible strain, with disagreements over nominations, the Iran war, voting legislation and the Senate's wider agenda slowing business in Washington and putting the party under added pressure before the election.

With PTI Inputs

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