President Donald Trump’s private frustration with his own party is increasingly spilling into view.
The president has been expressing growing frustration with Senate Republicans behind closed doors, particularly Majority Leader John Thune, over what he sees as resistance to his legislative priorities, according to The Wall Street Journal.
At the center of the dispute is Trump’s push to advance the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act—also referred to by allies as the SAVE America Act—after it passed the House in February.
The measure would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and mandate voter ID at the polls. It would also sharply restrict mail-in voting, a system Trump has repeatedly attacked as vulnerable to fraud, even as he used mail-in voting himself in a recent Florida special election.
But critics say the legislation would make it much harder to vote in a country where nearly half of residents do not own passports, and would require millions of Americans to re-register.
As a result, it has stalled in the Senate—much to the frustration of Trump, who has now resorted to lashing out at Republicans on Truth Social for hindering his agenda.
In a post, Trump said he will not support any renewal of FISA unless it includes his SAVE America Act.
“I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it,” he wrote.
FISA, or Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is a controversial surveillance authority used by U.S. intelligence agencies that allows them to monitor foreign individuals deemed national security risks without a warrant.
Congress rejected a short-term extension of FISA last week, causing it to lapse for the first time since its enactment in 2008.
Inside the Senate, reactions to Trump’s pressure campaign have been measured. When asked by Punchbowl News what motivated Trump’s post, Thune responded: “The president has his own mind, makes his own decisions. So do we.”
A person close to the president told The Wall Street Journal that Trump has been frustrated by being told “no” repeatedly by Thune instead of “no, let me try.”
A defender of Thune countered that Trump has not been able to secure enough Republican votes to pass the measure in the first place.
While tensions have escalated, Thune has largely avoided direct confrontation with Trump.
Asked whether it is difficult to repeatedly reject presidential demands, Thune told The Wall Street Journal their relationship remains stable.
He said his role is “to make sure we do everything we can to work with the president and his team where we’ve got our incentives aligned to get things done.” He added: “It isn’t every circumstance where the answer is ‘yes.’”
But behind the scenes, Trump’s frustration appears to have intensified. He has at times bypassed Thune entirely, including a recent White House meeting where he summoned House Speaker Mike Johnson to discuss disputes over personnel and the stalled surveillance law. Thune was not included.
According to multiple Republican senators cited by Punchbowl News, Trump has also asked lawmakers for their views on Thune’s leadership—an indication some within the party believe his support may be wavering.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Still, several Republican senators have defended Thune’s approach. Sen. John Cornyn told The Wall Street Journal that Thune is simply “telling the president the truth.” He added, “The problem is the president doesn’t like hearing that when it frustrates what he wants to do,” he said.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis described the dynamic as a contrast in styles: “Obviously, the president’s skill set is to vocalize everything, and Sen. Thune’s skill set is more quietly engaging,” she said. “I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive.”
Sen. John Kennedy offered a more colorful defense of Thune in a closed-door GOP meeting, according to Punchbowl News.
“Who doesn’t like John Thune?” Kennedy said. “If you don’t like John Thune, you don’t like golden retrievers.”
Kennedy also compared Trump to a tough-talking sales trainer from the film Glengarry Glen Ross, saying: “That’s the president, he’s always selling, and he wants the SAVE Act, and he wants Bill Pulte. And you may agree with him, you may disagree with him, but that’s what he wants,” he said.
He added in comments to The Wall Street Journal that while he supports the bill, Senate math has already proven difficult. “I mean, I want a Porsche for my birthday,” he said. “I’m not going to get it.”
