President Donald Trump put Republican Senator Susan Collins in an expletive-filled phone call after she voted against one of his top priorities.
The president allegedly made an “insulting” call to a vulnerable Republican senator on Thursday, sources told The Hill. Collins was one of five GOP senators to join Democrats in moving a resolution out of committee to the floor on the War Powers Act, which passed earlier in the day on a 52-47 vote.
“He was so mad about the vote,” the source told The Hill. “Too crazy. Too hot.”
Senators Susan Collins (left) and Lisa Murkowski (right) both expressed strong opposition on Wednesday to the US trying to buy or invade Greenland. / Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, via Getty Images
The proposal would block the president’s ability to use military force against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after the US captures him. This disrupts Trump’s plan to seize Venezuela’s oil.
Sources told The Hill that the president “basically read her a riot act,” in a phone call that came “out of the blue.” Collins’ office confirmed the call to The Hill, but did not include more details about what the president said. The Daily Beast has reached out to the senator’s representatives and the White House for comment.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with U.S. oil company executives in the East Room of the White House on January 9, 2026 in Washington, DC. / SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
In addition to Collins, Republican senators Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski, Josh Hawley and Todd Young also voted to advance the war powers resolution. The move angered Trump. He made a lengthy post about the five conservative MPs on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“Republicans should be ashamed of the senators who recently voted with Democrats to try to take away our powers to fight and defend the United States of America,” Trump wrote. “Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again.”
More than two hundred people take part in the “Hands of Venezuela” demonstration against US military action to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 8, 2026 in Cologne, Germany. / NurPhoto / Getty Images via NurPhoto
Collins is up for re-election this year and faces a tough race as Democratic challengers rise in popularity. His seat will be crucial for Republicans to retain control of the Senate after the midterms. However, Trump has been a thorn in his party’s side, openly expressing his desire to see Collins out. This latest call seems to reaffirm his animosity towards the senator.
“The president is clearly upset with the turnout,” Collins told reporters after Trump’s outburst. “I think that means he prefers to put up with Governor Mills or someone else with whom he doesn’t have a good relationship. I don’t know, I’m not going to comment.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio greets Bill Armstrong, founder and CEO of Armstrong Oil and Gas, as he arrives for a meeting with oil and gas executives in the East Room of the White House on January 9, 2026 in Washington, DC. / Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
The president has faced pressure and criticism since the operation that ended in Maduro’s capture in Venezuela. While Maduro is in custody awaiting trial, Trump has announced US plans to “run” Venezuela and sell millions of barrels of its oil.
Trump met with top oil executives from companies such as Chevron and Exxon on Friday to discuss Venezuela’s oil infrastructure. However, the 79-year-old president quickly deflected the topic, interrupting the meeting to wax poetic about the now-under-construction White House ballroom.
