Trump Blindsides Congress by Canceling Housing Bill Signing

Trump had a tense meeting with Senate Republicans. (Reuters)
Reuters
By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey

Good evening. President Trump today pulled the rug out from under Republican lawmakers who were eager to tout a rare bipartisan win on an issue of importance to voters. Then he got into a shouting match with a GOP senator. Tune in now for our next episode of "As the Trump Turns."

Trump Blindsides Congress by Canceling Housing Bill Signing

The intraparty rifts dividing both Democrats and Republicans have been on very public display over the last 24 hours.

In New York City last night, a trio of progressive congressional candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated candidates supported by the Democratic Party establishment, including two incumbents. The results dealt a blow to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who hopes to be speaker in the next Congress and could face challenges from the left flank of his caucus.

Then today, President Trump again blindsided congressional Republicans, abruptly canceling a signing ceremony for a housing affordability bill that had passed both the House and Senate this week with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Trump had been scheduled to sign the "21st Century ROAD to Housing Act" in the Capitol at noon before joining Senate Republicans for what was expected to be a tense lunch to discuss party priorities (it lived up to those expectations - see below for more). Instead, the president sprung a surprise on lawmakers in his own party by demanding that Congress first approve the SAVE America Act, his controversial bill to tighten voter restrictions, which has stalled in the Senate with no clear path to passage. The bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and have voters present identification before they can cast a ballot. It also includes limits on mail-in ballots and restrictions on transgender care.

"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," Trump wrote on his social media site shortly before 10:30 a.m. In a separate post, Trump downplayed the importance of the housing bill, writing that it "is of minor importance compared to lower interest rates" and "pales in comparison" to his election reform package.

It was a bewildering move that again upended Republican lawmakers' plans and undercut their efforts to show that they are responding to voters' top concern, affordability.

Congressional lawmakers were eager to celebrate a significant legislative victory that gave them a measure they could point toward as addressing cost-of-living concerns. The housing bill, reportedly the first major legislation in more than three decades aimed at boosting housing programs, passed by a margin of 358 to 32 in the House on Tuesday, a day after the Senate approved it in an 85-5 vote.

The White House had also touted the signing ceremony, sharing a social media post from press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the bill "one of the most significant pieces of housing affordability legislation in American history" and describing it as another promise kept by the president. "This bipartisan bill includes policies long championed by the President. It cuts unnecessary red tape, helps increase housing supply, and limits the ability of large institutional investors to purchase single-family homes," Leavitt wrote.

What's next: Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Wednesday that he will look to pass the SAVE America Act as part of Republicans' third budget reconciliation bill, now in the planning stages. "We believe that if you create a grant program that ties it to reconciling the budget, and you allow blue states, if they come to their senses and they want to avail themselves of election integrity proposals and ideas and policies, they can draw down from a federal fund, and use those funds," Johnson said, adding that he had discussed the plan with Trump this morning.

Other Republicans have expressed serious skepticism about the likelihood of passing a third party-line bill. Even if they can put together a package, likely built around supplemental Pentagon funding, any attempt to shoehorn the SAVE America Act into it will face challenges in the Senate, where the parliamentarian has already ruled that it does not satisfy the complex rules that allow a reconciliation bill to be passed with a simple 50-vote majority.

"Save America Act cannot be done in reconciliation," Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a strong supporter of the election bill, wrote in a post on X Wednesday. "Why would the same senate that is blocking voter ID all of a sudden magically change their mind to overrule the parliamentarian? Not happening."

Luna and a group of Republicans said they will block other legislative business in the House unless Congress passes the election bill. That forced GOP leaders to cancel some procedural votes meant to tee up other bills for this week, leaving the House stuck.

Why it matters: "A once in a generation housing bill falls victim to the nuts," one unnamed House Republican reportedly said in a text to NBC News.

Trump's decision Wednesday is the latest in a series of actions that have heightened tensions with Senate Republicans and disrupted plans to pass key pieces of legislation, raising GOP concerns that the president is actively undermining their chances of maintaining their congressional majorities in November's midterms. "People are pissed off that we are not taking care of business," another House Republican reportedly told NBC News.

In this case, Trump has little leverage if he really wants to use the housing bill to push for his election reform package. If he doesn't sign the bill within 10 days, it will automatically become law. And if he vetoes the measure - which would be a politically foolhardy move - Congress has more than enough votes to override the veto.

Trump Slams Oil Companies, Clashes With Cassidy Over Iran War

Global oil prices fell on Wednesday to their lowest level since the war against Iran began on February 28, with Brent crude futures dropping to $73.50 a barrel, but according to President Trump oil companies are taking too long to pass their lower costs onto consumers.

"The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil," Trump wrote on his social media platform early Wednesday morning. "Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being 'gouged.'"

Trump said he has ordered the Department of Justice to investigate the matter. "Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I'm seeing!" he warned.

An eye on November: Trump's comments came as Republicans are expressing growing concerns about their prospects in the midterms and high fuel prices weigh heavily on voters' minds. With Trump's approval ratings sitting near all-time lows, Republicans are worried that voters could punish them at the polls in November in response to the basic pocketbook issue, sparked by Trump's war of choice against Iran.

Trump addressed those concerns on Tuesday, telling supporters at a rally in Macungie, Pennsylvania, that relief is on the way. "That oil is going to come charging down," he said. "And with oil comes everything else."

The price of gasoline dropped below $4 a gallon last week for the first time since the start of the war, after peaking above $4.50 in May, but economists say the decline in fuel prices could be gradual and uneven, with higher prices persisting for months.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the major oil firms, said in response to Trump's criticism that the industry is focused on restoring price stability. However, "gasoline prices don't move in lockstep with crude oil, especially during a major global disruption that is still affecting supply, refining and inventories," a spokesperson said.

Clash with Cassidy: The fallout over the Iran war was the focus of an intense showdown between Trump and Sen. Bill Cassidy at a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The Republican lawmaker, who recently lost his bid for renomination after Trump backed a primary challenger, reportedly accused the president of not being honest with the American people about the war.

The showdown began when Trump expressed his annoyance that the Senate had approved a war powers resolution this week, a symbolic rebuke of the president's actions against Iran. Trump wanted to know why lawmakers would try to limit his powers.

Cassidy told reporters what happened next: "I stood and said, 'You have not told the American people what's going on. It was supposed to last four weeks, it's lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved and I want to know what's going on.'"

Trump reportedly needled Cassidy about losing his reelection bid in a heated exchange, but Cassidy said he responded forcefully. "He did not particularly care for my comments, raised his voice," Cassidy said, referring to Trump. "I lost my temper, that's not appropriate - it's the Irish in me. I matched his tone and his volume and it went back and forth."

Cassidy said he had no regrets about clashing with Trump, because "the American people need to know" about what is happening in Iran.

"It does not appear ... that the course of this is going the way we were told," Cassidy said. "So I make no apologies for standing up to the president, trying to demand that more information be shared with the Senate and more information be shared with the American people."

White House Asks Congress for $88 Billion for Iran War, Farm Aid

The White House today asked Congress for $87.6 billion in supplemental funding for the Iran war and other programs.

"Most of this request will address urgent needs related to Operation Epic Fury (OEF), in addition to other critical needs such as responding to the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa and supporting hardworking American farmers," White House budget director Russell Vought wrote in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson.

About $67 billion would go to the Defense Department, including $21 billion for munitions and $17.3 billion for "operational costs." Another $11.1 billion would support American farmers, including $10 billion in temporary economic assistance for crops planted in 2026 and $1.1 billion to help the recovery from winter storm-induced damages in Florida.

The request also includes $1.4 billion to respond to the Ebola outbreak in central Africa, and $1 billion for the "final design and construction of a modernized Penn Station in New York City."

Democrats panned the request, which means it likely can't pass the Senate, where 60 votes would be needed.

"For months, the administration has failed to answer basic questions about its aims and justification for the Iran war and failed to provide the most basic information about its costs," Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said. "It is clear, however, that this request is not merely meant to pay for the president's disastrous war, but an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional dollars for unrelated Pentagon priorities that should rightly be considered through the annual appropriations process."

Murray added that President Trump "is telling the American people there's no money for health care, housing, or child care-but there should be endless taxpayer dollars to fund wars they don't support."

US Healthcare Spending Will Soar to $9 Trillion by 2034: Analysis

Healthcare spending in the United States totaled $5.3 trillion in 2024, representing 18% of the economy, but those numbers are expected to keep rising. According to a new analysis from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, total healthcare spending is projected to rise to nearly $9 trillion by 2034, with the sector accounting for 20.6% of the economy overall.

The analysis, published in Health Affairs on Wednesday, finds that healthcare spending is growing faster than the economy.

The government share of overall healthcare spending is expected to grow, as well, rising from 31% in 2024 to 33% in 2034. The rise in the government share of spending is driven largely by the continued expansion of Medicare, which is growing at a rate of about 9% annually.

The analysts say the long-term trend shows that healthcare will continue to claim a larger and larger share of the economy.

"As a consequence, policy makers will undoubtedly continue to explore options for addressing the significant financing challenges for a sector that is expected to account for more than one-fifth of the economy by 2034," the analysts say. "The financing concerns must also be considered within the context of aligning the goals of technological advancement (perhaps driven by progressions in artificial intelligence that could be cost-increasing or cost-decreasing) with improved population health and health insurance coverage."

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