GOP Senator Defends Himself After He Was Reported ‘Yelling’ at Trump: ‘I’m Not Gonna Be Bullied Into Silence’

Left: (Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA via AP Images), Right: (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) defended “yelling” at President Donald Trump over lunch, telling ABC News’ Rachel Scott on Wednesday, “I’m not gonna be bullied into silence.”

Per a report from MS NOW’s Mychael Schnell, Cassidy lost his temper with the president during a Wednesday Senate GOP lunch as Trump attacked Cassidy and three other Republicans for voting in favor of a war powers resolution to limit the war in Iran.

Cassidy “confronted President Trump over the Iran memorandum of understanding, a source familiar with the lunch conversation tells me,” reported Schnell, adding, “Cassidy was ‘yelling’ at Trump, the source said.”

“The American people just need to know what’s going on with Iran,” Cassidy told Scott on Wednesday. “I don’t think there’s been sufficient information shared with Congress or with the American people, so that was my message.”

“How was this received by the president?” Scott asked. “Did this turn into a shouting match?”

“Well, um, voices were raised, to put it that way,” Cassidy responded.

When asked if he had any regrets about the interaction, the senator said, “No. I’m not gonna be bullied when I’m trying to get answers for the American people. This is not about me. It’s not about the president. It’s about the American people knowing what’s going on, and right now, there’s just like, ‘Hm. It seems we’re being told different things by different people.’ You may be right. I just think there needs to be more, kind of, ‘Let’s be open about it,’ and I’m not gonna be bullied into silence when I’m sticking up for the American people.”

Directly after Wednesday’s lunch, Cassidy additionally told reporters that Trump “did not particularly care for my comments, raised his voice. I lost my temper…it’s the Irish in me,” adding, “But again, I matched his tone and his volume, and it went back and forth.”

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