Trump Abruptly Cancels Bill Signing Ceremony at the Capitol, Demanding Passage of Voter ID Bill

President Trump said he will not sign a major bipartisan housing reform bill at the Capitol on Wednesday, saying Republicans must first pass a bill to require proof of citizenship and photo ID before voting. Republican lawmakers had already set up a stage before Mr. Trump abruptly canceled the event. Mr. Trump has been pressuring Senate Republicans to pass the voting reform bill, the SAVE America Act, for months. He had previously threatened to veto all bills until the SAVE American Act came to his desk, though it appeared that he was ditching that pledge. In a Truth Social post a little more than an hour before he was supposed to head to the Capitol, he said the signing ceremony would be delayed. “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,” the president wrote. The housing bill had been a pillar of Republicans’ messaging for the week, saying it would deliver a significant reduction in housing costs. The bill passed with wide bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate. Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Speaker Mike Johnson said Mr. Trump’s decision was not of much consequence, saying the president would likely sign the bill within “days.” He blamed Senate Democrats for blocking the SAVE America Act and defended Mr. Trump’s decision to play hardball. The majority leader, Senator John Thune, declined to comment when reporters asked him about the president’s decision. Mr. Trump is still scheduled to have lunch with Republican senators on Wednesday — a meeting which some lawmakers worry could grow tense. The president, who was invited by Senator Rick Scott rather than Mr. Thune, is expected to try to twist arms over the SAVE America Act even though it will not receive the 60 votes necessary. Senate Democrats are uniformly against the bill. Senator Thom Tillis, who is a supporter of the SAVE America Act, told The New York Sun on Tuesday that Mr. Trump needs to realize that the bill is not going to pass due to the filibuster. Mr. Trump wants lawmakers to use what’s called a “talking filibuster” to force Democrats to debate the legislation, though that would hand Democrats the power to hold the Senate floor potentially for months. “Look, we’ve got so many things to agree on, let’s just agree this is not going to move forward, get back to our agenda, and hopefully that’ll occur tomorrow,” Mr. Tillis told the Sun.

Trump Abruptly Cancels Bill Signing Ceremony at the Capitol, Demanding Passage of Voter ID Bill

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