Donald Trump cancels housing bill signing to pressure Republicans on voting bill
Trump said he would join Senate Republicans at a closed luncheon Wednesday afternoon to lobby them to pass the ballot measure called the RELIEVE America Act, his top legislative priority. The law would require a photo ID to vote in federal elections and proof of U.S. citizenship to register, and would force states to turn over voter registration lists to the federal government.
Also Read: Trump stuck between ‘rockets and feathers’, writhing to get out
“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signings are canceled until we can pass the desperately needed RESCUE AMERICA ACT, which I consider a National Emergency,” Trump wrote in a social media post. Some Republicans have noted it could be a largely symbolic gesture: It could become law if the president doesn’t sign it within 10 days, and lawmakers believe they have enough votes to overcome a presidential veto. But Trump’s determination may not be enough.
Although Republicans control 53 of the 100 seats in the Senate, they lack the 60 votes needed to meet the chamber’s filibuster threshold for most bills; That makes five unsuccessful votes on the measure or its provisions since mid-March.
Also Read: Trump says Iran promises ‘no fees, no fees’ on Hormuz transit
‘HARD FACTS’
Republicans also say they don’t have enough votes to meet Trump’s repeated demands to eliminate the filibuster and pass the bill with a simple majority. “These are just hard facts. And I think people have to confront that at some point,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters in what could be a preview of the message the conference will give Trump.
Senate Republicans also rejected Trump’s other calls for tough tactics, such as adding the Save America Act to must-pass legislation or firing a Senate official who blocked it from a recent spending package.
Supporters of the bill say they shouldn’t give up on efforts to pass Trump’s top priority.
“Every time a bill starts here, there just aren’t enough votes,” said Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who sponsored legislation inviting Trump to Wednesday’s meeting. “We’re going to have a good chat to see if we can figure out how to get this to the finish line.”
RARE VISIT
Presidential visits to Congress are rare, and Wednesday’s meeting came at a time when relations between Trump and his party in the Senate are poor. Less than five months before the November midterm elections, which threaten to end the majority, Senate Republicans have begun to resist Trump on several fronts: They have pushed him to give up $1.8 billion in “counterproliferation” funding and expressed anger that he chose an ally with no intelligence background as the top U.S. intelligence official. And on Tuesday, Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy joined Democrats to pass legislation to halt U.S. military action against Iran.
This led to a harsh rebuke from Trump on social media: “Four Republican Losers voted with the Dumocrats and asked my Iranian people: “What does all this mean?” These Senators have made my job harder, but I’m going to get it done one way or another, because I always get it done!” The president said in a post.
Critics of the voting bill, including Senate Democrats, say the bill targets the nearly non-existent non-citizen voting problem but would disenfranchise American citizens who do not have ready access to a passport or birth certificate.
Some Republicans say their efforts might be better spent on other issues.
“Every minute we’re spending on this, we’re not spending it on something that’s going to get my colleagues re-elected,” Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told reporters.
