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PoliticsTrump threatens to block housing bill in protest over SAVE America Act stalemate
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Former President Donald Trump announced he will not sign a bipartisan housing affordability bill, which has already passed Congress, in protest of the Senate's failure to pass the SAVE America Act, a voter ID bill. Trump's threat is largely symbolic, as the U.S. Constitution allows the bill to become law automatically after 10 days without his signature. The SAVE America Act, which originally included controversial provisions such as making it harder for married women to vote and banning mail-in voting, has sparked significant backlash, stalling other legislative priorities including DHS funding and the National Defense Authorization Act. The bill has been pared down but still requires proof of citizenship for voter registration and photo ID at polls. Trump has called for ending the filibuster to pass the measure, escalating intra-party tensions.
Source report
Donald Trump is protesting a potential bipartisan legislative victory in a futile attempt to advance the SAVE America Act.
"I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, which is polling at 97 percent with the Republican Party, and very high with the non-politician Dumocrats," Trump posted on Truth Social Friday morning.
However, Trump's protest is unlikely to have any effect. The Constitution states that bills automatically become law after 10 days if the president neither signs nor vetoes them. The housing affordability measure passed both chambers of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and Trump has not indicated that he will issue a last-minute veto.
The SAVE America Act Controversy
The SAVE America Act sparked nationwide controversy earlier this year, particularly over a detail in the first version of the bill that would have made it more difficult for married women to vote. Backlash has been so severe that, in the months since Trump insisted it should be Congress's top priority, dispute over the voter ID bill has:
- Gummed up efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security
- Stalled attempts to pass the National Defense Authorization Act
- Upended Trump's own Cabinet nominations
The original SAVE America Act proposed numerous amendments to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, including provisions that would:
- Abolish mail-in voting
- Require voters to bring proof of citizenship and proof of residency to register
- Require voter ID
- Mandate voter roll purges every 30 days
Revised Version
The bill has been radically pared down since then, largely due to the improbability of passing it in full. House Speaker Mike Johnson has claimed that the current iteration proposed by the lower chamber preserves the "backbone" of what Trump is pushing to pass in the Senate. That includes:
- Requirements to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote (such as a birth certificate or U.S. passport)
- A mandate to present photo identification when casting a ballot
Trump has also insisted that the bill ban mail-in voting, describing the procedure as "crooked" and "corrupt," despite the fact that he himself has cast several mail-in ballots.
Trump's Warning
"THE SAVE AMERICA ACT'S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!" Trump continued in his Friday post. "If the Dumocrats, or any RINO (or worse!) working with them, do not allow a positive Vote on SAVE AMERICA, TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, and pass this, and every other Bill that true Republicans have ever dreamt of (In addition to the upcoming Budget BOMB and the 1929 catastrophic style DEBT CEILING BILL!)."
This is a developing story.
Read more: Trump Mocks His Own Party as He Claims Landmark Housing Bill Is Boring
Video Shows Mitch McConnell Being Loaded Into Ambulance
A newly released video appears to show Senator Mitch McConnell being loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher as he was transported to the hospital last month.
CNN spoke to a neighbor of the Kentucky senator and former Senate majority leader, who said they saw two ambulances, a fire truck, and Capitol Police officers blocking their street at 8:30 a.m. on June 14. That neighbor took a video of emergency responders pushing a person, whose face is not visible, on a stretcher to an ambulance.
When the neighbor asked what was happening, police officers said there was a medical emergency. The neighbor then asked if the person was McConnell, to which the officers replied they would close the street for any person, according to CNN.
The neighbor said another witness told them that McConnell was the person on the stretcher and was not wearing an oxygen mask.
"He's in a stretcher, and he's in some sort like orange foam looking blanket type thing," the neighbor told the news outlet, adding that they could see McConnell's uncovered feet, which did not appear to be moving. The first responders did not seem to be moving urgently, the neighbor noted.
"In a situation where perh
Source
The New RepublicWestern
Part of this Story
Trump Cancels Housing Bill Signing, Demands Voter ID Law First