Congress Stalled After Trump Throws Out Demand for Passage of Voter ID Bill

President Trump’s demand that Congress pass his voting reform bill is leading to a stalemate in Congress, with conservatives in the House threatening to shut down the chamber and Senate conservatives pushing to take up the bill immediately. As of Thursday, Mr. Trump says he will not sign a major bipartisan housing reform package until his voting bill comes to the floor. Mr. Trump has been pushing lawmakers for months to prioritize the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and photo identification before casting a ballot. The president wants other provisions attached to that bill, however, including a drastic restriction on mail voting, a ban on transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for children, and a requirement that transgender individuals compete in sports leagues designated for their sexes.He says he will not sign a single piece of legislation until the SAVE America Act is passed — which is an impossibility, the majority of Republicans on the Hill have said. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he wants the bill as he has described it.“These are 99 [to one] percent issues, and we have to do it,” Mr. Trump said, declaring that he would not accept any kind of compromise agreement. “Everybody wants it … including Democrats. 87 percent of Democrats want it. Not the leaders, because they wanna cheat.”Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump met with Senate Republicans for more than an hour at the Capitol Building. Behind closed doors, Mr. Trump got into a shouting match with Senator Bill Cassidy, who has been critical of his memorandum of understanding with Iran. With conservative senators still pushing for a “talking filibuster” — which would force Democrats to debate the SAVE America Act, potentially for months on end — House Republicans, too, are stepping up the pressure on their own leadership. As of Thursday, there are 25 conservative House Republicans who say they will not vote for a single Senate-passed bill so long as the SAVE America Act is not law.Threats from hardline conservatives grew even more intense Wednesday when Mr. Trump said he was refusing to sign the bipartisan housing reform bill. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna says she and a ban of other conservatives will vote against all procedural motions to allow the House to conduct its business, essentially shutting down the U.S. House of Representatives.In order for the House to begin debating and considering legislation, lawmakers must first adopt what is known as a “rule,” which is simply a guideline for how certain bills are handled on the floor. Without a rule being passed beforehand, it takes a two-thirds majority in the House to pass a bill.Democrats never help Speaker Mike Johnson by voting for his rules, as they place restrictions on what kinds of amendments can be offered on the floor. Even if a Democrat supports the underlying bill, he or she will almost always vote no on the rule. With Ms. Luna now saying that she has the votes to tank any future rule votes, Mr. Johnson will not be able to put a single Republican priority on the floor. The House was due to adopt a rule on Wednesday afternoon, though Ms. Luna’s threat led leaders to cancel all votes in the hopes that they can change some minds before Thursday’s voting session.In a sign of how difficult things have gotten, Mr. Thune on Wednesday made the decision to send his colleagues home early for a two-week recess. Senators were supposed to continue considering judicial nominations, though those plans have now been canceled as senators head home for the July 4 break.

Congress Stalled After Trump Throws Out Demand for Passage of Voter ID Bill

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