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John Thune and Donald Trump had a ‘spirited’ conversation over Senate war powers vote
The Senate majority leader signaled a lobbying effort is underway targeting the five Republicans who broke with the president.
McALLEN, Texas — Shortly after five Republican senators broke with Donald Trump and voted Thursday to advance a measure constraining his military options in Venezuela, the president lashed out and called for them to lose their seats.
Before he turned to Truth Social, however, he connected with John Thune and gave him a piece of his mind.
The Senate majority leader acknowledged the “very spirited” conversation with the angry president in an interview Friday after appearing with several Republican senators and candidates along the U.S.-Mexico border to promote last year’s GOP megabill.
“There’s a level of frustration at the White House — and with us, too, on a vote like that,” he said.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The war-powers fight is hardly over — the Senate still needs to debate and pass the resolution that was advanced Thursday, and even if the House passes it, which is unlikely, Trump could still veto it. But the surprising procedural vote contributed to a narrative that Trump is losing his grip on congressional Republicans after running roughshod over potential GOP renegades in 2025.
Two of the five senators — Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — supported a previous effort to rein Trump in on Venezuela. Three others — Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana — were more surprising.
Thune declined to predict whether he would be able to flip at least two to block the resolution’s passage next week, but he signaled a lobbying effort is underway.
“Obviously we’d love to have some of our colleagues come back around on that issue,” he said. “The constitutional questions, the legal questions, are being more sufficiently answered as people have probed into it.”
But he added that, for his part, no grudges would be held — no matter the outcome.
“The most important vote isn’t the last vote, it’s the next vote,” he said. “At the end of the day, there are going to be a lot more votes coming, and circumstances in which we’re going to have our team united as much as possible and work with the president.”
Lead Art: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) speaks with reporters as he walks into his office at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 5, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
