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Good Wednesday evening. In this edition: Trump cancels signing of bipartisan housing bill as he demands passage of SAVE Act.
Plus, New York primaries, NATO, supplemental funding and time capsule.
Housing Bill & SAVE Act
President Trump threw Congress for another loop by abruptly canceling a signing ceremony for a major bipartisan housing bill and saying he would not sign it until lawmakers pass his unrelated voting restrictions bill.
"Today's Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency," he wrote on Truth Social hours before he was set to head to Capitol Hill for the ceremony and a meeting with GOP senators.
The housing bill, called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, aims to increase housing supply and bring down costs, including by limiting institutional investors' purchases of certain single-family homes.
It was overwhelmingly approved by both chambers of Congress earlier this week, with the Senate clearing it on Monday in an 85–5 vote and the House passing it 358–32 on Tuesday evening.
Despite being a high priority for lawmakers in both parties, who see it as a way to address Americans' affordability concerns, the president dismissed the bill as being of "minor importance."
"The Elizabeth 'Pocahontas' Warren centric housing bill, which is of minor importance compared to lower interest rates, and even FISA, pales in comparison to passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT," he wrote in a separate post. "That is what Americans, both Dumocrats, Republicans, and everyone else, care about."
The SAVE America Act — which would impose strict new rules for registering to vote and casting ballots, among other changes — does not have enough support to get through the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has repeatedly conveyed to the president that he does not have the votes to pass it, nor the votes to eliminate the filibuster and approve it on a party-line basis, as the president has repeatedly called on him to do.
But President Trump has plowed forward with his demand, calling on Sen. Thune to "be a leader" and find the votes.
Republican senators were hoping their closed-door meeting with the president on Capitol Hill would help get them on the same page after months of growing frustrations.
GOP senators have recently rebuked the president over the Iran war, the filibuster, the SAVE Act, the "anti-weaponization" fund, the director of national intelligence nomination and his decision to endorse challengers to incumbent senators.
President Trump emerged from the meeting touting party unity, but noted he didn't like some members of the conference.
"We had a really great meeting, and we're very proud of the party," he told reporters. "We like our leader, we like everybody, really, in the room. I don't like a few people, but that's okay. I think you know who they are."
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who recently lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, got into a shouting match with the president during the meeting over the Iran war, which he called a "blunder."
"I stood and said, 'You have not told the American people what's going on. It's lasted four months, our original objectives have not been achieved, and I want to know what's going on,'" he told reporters after the meeting, admitting he "lost [his] temper."
The Louisiana Republican was one of four GOP senators to vote to prevent further U.S. military action against Iran on Tuesday, joining with nearly all Democrats on the war powers resolution.
President Trumplashed out at those senators after the vote on social media: "Four Republican Losers voted with the Dumocrats, and Iran asked my people, 'what does that all mean?' These Senators have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done!"
The president's refusal to sign the housing bill also threw the House into chaos, emboldening hardliners to shut down the floor in protest of the Senate not passing the SAVE Act.
A group of Republican lawmakers, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), said they will oppose all bills until the Senate acts on the measure by voting against adopting rules for bills.
The move forced GOP leaders to cancel a planned vote on a rule that would set up votes on multiple bills this week. Instead, they pivoted to noncontroversial bills that can be brought under suspension of the rules.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who has touted the housing bill as a major accomplishment, said he understood the president's decision and predicted he would eventually sign it.
"The president, when we go through the details of the bill, he's going to understand that it's a good product, and certainly something that fulfills his promises to bring down the cost," he told reporters.
President Trump later refused to say whether he would veto the bill or simply let it become law, which would happen 10 days after the bill is submitted to him if no action is taken.
"I know housing better than anybody maybe anywhere. It's all about the interest rate. Lower the interest rates and you're going to have all the housing you want. But you have to understand, I don't want to hurt people that own houses."
Democrats and some Republicans are adamantly opposed to the SAVE Act, arguing it would make voting much harder and prevent millions of eligible voters from casting ballots.
Zohran Mamdani, New York's democratic socialist mayor, flexed his political muscle in the New York primaries on Tuesday, breaking with the Democratic establishment by backing three like-minded candidates who won key House races. Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old community organizer, defeated five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) in the 13th District. Brad Lander, another progressive and former city comptroller, ousted Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in the 10th District after hammering the congressman over his support for Israel. And Claire Valdez, a 36-year-old member of the Democratic Socialists of America, defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the 7th District race to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY). In the 12th District, Micah Lasher defeated Kennedy family scion Jack Schlossberg to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in one of the cycle's most expensive House primaries.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Ruttemet with President Trump in the Oval Office to make the case for the importance of the military alliance, which the president has repeatedly disparaged and threatened to withdraw from. The president has long complained that the U.S. spends more than other allies on defense and sharply escalated his criticisms after some allies refused to support the U.S. in the conflict with Iran. "I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking, your European allies have been there with you," Mr. Rutte told the president. Mr. Rutte made the visit ahead of the annual NATO meeting, which is set to take place next month in Turkey. Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a Pentagon review of U.S. forces in Europe, with an eye toward drawing down troops in countries the administration views as insufficiently supportive.
The Trump administrationsent Congress an $87.6 billion supplemental funding request to cover the costs of the Iran war and to help respond to the Ebola outbreak in Africa. "Under President Trump's leadership, the United States executed a successful operation to deter the threat of a nuclear armed Iranian regime and massively degrade the regime’s ability to project power in the region,” White House Budget Director Russ Vought wrote in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). "Accordingly, the Administration's request addresses operational costs incurred by the Department of War (DOW)." Republican appropriators welcomed the request, but Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the Appropriations Committee ranking member, said she would not "rubberstamp" the money. "President Trump launched a reckless and costly war with Iran — without authorization from Congress or the support of the American people — that he should never have started, and now, instead of doing anything to help families get by, he is asking taxpayers to pick up the tab and give him billions more to wage wars overseas," she said in a statement.
Lawmakersunveiled a congressional time capsule on Capitol Hill as part of the nation's semiquincentennial celebration. The four-foot-tall capsule, which is meant to be sealed for the next 250 years, included a mix of items meant to reflect where the nation is today. "This is our opportunity to share what America looks like today," Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said at the ceremony. "The congressional time capsule is a reflection of our faith in the future of this grand experiment of self-governing." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he hoped that when future Americans open the capsule, they will be able to learn from what was placed inside. "I hope that when members of the 244th Congress open this time capsule and view the items that we have placed inside of it, they'll be able to learn from our history, our experiences, and our values and carry that with them as they work to ensure that the next 250 years in American history might be even better than the 500 that will have passed," he said.
For your radar…
President Trump holds a rally Wednesday night to kick off the 16-day Great American State Fair, part of Washington's celebration of the nation's 250th birthday. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN2 at 8:30pm ET.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin testifies Thursday before a House Appropriations subcommittee. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN3 at 10am ET.
