Trump has one prescription for midterms. House Republicans have another
DORAL, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump He insisted he knows the answer for Republicans worried about losing their congressional majority this year: Building on what’s already there. strict national voter ID Law banning mail-in voting and restricting transgender rights.
“This will guarantee the midterms,” he told Republicans gathered in the ballroom of his golf course just outside Miami on Monday. “If you don’t understand, it will be a big problem.”
Less than 24 hours later, House Republican leaders emphasized their priorities. And the ballot measure that Trump converted from the SAVE Act to the RELIEVE America Act was not high on the list.
Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan, the House GOP conference chair, described tax cuts for families, energy independence and so-called Trump accounts for newborns as “real results for real people.” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise He said his Louisiana colleagues were working with Trump to “make life more affordable for working families.” Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House majority whip, talked about “win after win,” declaring that “working families keep most of their hard-earned money in their pockets.”
As House Republicans close out their annual opinion conference on Wednesday, a disconnect is emerging in an election year.
Just a few seats away from losing the majority, senior Republicans are keen to highlight the party’s work to cut costs; None of this is easy to achieve with just a few votes. Trump, meanwhile, is often focused elsewhere.
The war started in Iran As the House Speaker noted, this has disrupted the party’s messaging on affordability, as GOP leaders face frequent questions about the rising cost of gas. mike johnson It was described as a “temporary outage”. The voting bill Trump is pushing is based on his insistence that he won the 2020 presidential election; The allegations were rejected by dozens of courts and his own attorney general at the time.
At times, the president has downplayed even the traditional pocketbook issues that other Republicans prefer to emphasize.
“Every time I go out, save America, sir. Save America Act,” Trump said at the GOP event. “That’s all they talk about. They don’t talk about housing. They don’t talk about anything. That’s what they want to talk about.”
Johnson, who is close to Trump and appeared on stage with him this week, isn’t far removed from Trump’s push on the voting bill. He denied there was any daylight between his colleagues and the White House on Tuesday.
“We’re all on the same side,” Johnson said. “The President and I are exactly on the same page.”
A tough road awaits Republicans
But the road ahead is rocky.
In an effort to gain influence with lawmakers, including some Republicans, Trump said he would not sign other legislation into law until the ballot measure was passed. That raises the possibility that Congress will grind to a halt at a time when lawmakers are asking voters to send them back to Washington.
Passing legislation consistent with Trump’s demands will also be challenging. The House has already passed a version of the bill, so the changes Trump is seeking would require the chamber to take new steps.
Dynamism is not easy in the SenateWhere Republicans struggled to pass the measure without Democratic support. And that was before Trump asked for additions, saying Republicans “should go for the gold.”
Meanwhile, Congress has other high-profile work ahead of it, including reopening the Department of Homeland Security and confirming its new leader.
Johnson suggested Tuesday that there are ways for lawmakers to continue their work in the face of Trump’s threat not to sign the legislation. The speaker stated that the Constitution allows the law to become law if it is sent to the president but not signed within 10 days.
Johnson aims to shift focus to Democrats
Facing a tough political calculus, Johnson is trying to shift his attention to Democrats, especially because of the DHS shutdown that has led to increased security lines at some airports in the past few days.
“If you missed a wedding or a funeral or are worried about missing your flight for spring break this weekend, Democrats are to blame,” he said.
Republicans have spent much of this week trying to remind voters of the things they didn’t like about life before Trump returned to office. Inflation and border crossings were frequently mentioned during the reign of former President Joe Biden.
But the question that could animate this year’s election is whether voters are more concerned with the transition from Biden to Trump, or are they more focused on what lies ahead.
The fact that voters are more focused on the future could present an additional hurdle for the GOP.
Nearly a third of Americans mentioned inflation or personal finance as issues they want the government to address this year, according to AP-NORC polling in December. Virtually no concerns were raised about voting laws or election security.
Under the blazing Florida sun on Tuesday afternoon, a handful of House Republicans gathered to show they were listening and deserved another term in power.
“We are not sitting back,” said Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas. “We realize we still have a lot to do and we’re working on it.”
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Associated Press journalist Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.
