President Trump's direct criticisms of Volodymyr Zelensky have detonated on Capitol Hill, where Republicans are torn between their loyalty to their president versus honoring their promises to Ukraine.

• "The president speaks for himself," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters about Trump's latest comments.

Why it matters: In the past 24 hours, Trump called Zelensky "a dictator without elections," falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia and said it "could have made a deal" to end the fighting.

🥊 In response, some Republicans eviscerated Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• "Putin started this war. Putin committed war crimes. Putin is the dictator," Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) wrote on X.
• "Vladimir Putin is a vile dictator and thug," Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) wrote on X.
• "Vladimir Putin is the Dictator without Elections," Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) wrote on X.

Zoom in: Trump's slams today broke through the defenses of GOP senators, who had gotten smoother at dodging questions on Trump's social media posts.

• "I would certainly not call Zelensky a dictator," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), as NBC News cataloged.
• "It's not a word I would use," said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
• "I wouldn't use the same word," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Between the lines: Some Republicans, including Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), agree with Trump that Zelensky should hold elections. They've been put off as allowed by the country's constitution because of martial law since Russia's 2022 invasion.

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— Justin Green

Don't prewrite the obituaries for the Senate's budget plan just yet.

• At a private lunch today for Senate Republicans, Vice President Vance gave the green light for the Senate to keep going, even after Trump endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson's "one, big beautiful bill."
• Vance joked early in the lunch that he was sure senators had already leaked to Axios (!) what he had just said, multiple sources told us.

The big picture: Johnson has a math problem that even Trump's strong support can't instantly fix.

• House conservatives want deep, deep cuts. $1.5 trillion isn't enough for some of them, who want at least $2 trillion.
• House moderates are threatening to tank any deal that slashes too much. Trimming even $1.5 trillion could force cutting programs like Medicaid and SNAP.

Zoom in: Vance expressed support for the Senate's plan of first tackling border and military spending, sources told us.

• But Vance told senators Trump still prefers Johnson's budget reconciliation plan, which would include Trump's many tax promises, including extending the 2017 tax cuts, no tax on tips and raising SALT caps.
• Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) raised the issue of Medicaid cuts during lunch — and received applause after telling Vance such cuts should be on the table, sources in the room told us.
• Trump has repeatedly said Medicaid and Social Security will not be touched. But it's difficult to reach the kind of spending cuts that conservatives would like to see without looking at Medicaid.

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— Stef Kight

Senate Democrats are targeting Trump's order to end birthright citizenship by trying to cut off the funding to enforce it.

• Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) will lead a group of Democrats in introducing the Born in the USA Act this week, which would prevent any government funds from being used to enforce Trump's birthright citizenship order.

Why it matters: The bill is a notable opening shot from Rosen and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who represent a purple state with a hefty Latino population. Rosen and Trump both won the state in 2024.

• Trump's directive to end birthright citizenship has been halted by a number of courts while battles over its constitutionality continue. The Democrats are framing the move as patently illegal.

The big picture: Just 36% of U.S. adults support Trump's move to end birthright citizenship, according to polling from Reuters/Ipsos.

• "The U.S. Constitution is abundantly clear that if you are born in the United States, then you are a citizen," Rosen said in a statement to us.

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— Stephen Neukam