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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump is sabotaging a rare bipartisan legislative win for a bill with no chance of passage.
What’s happening? Trump was set to sign a big, bipartisan housing bill — intended to address housing affordability and encourage new construction — into law on Wednesday, after it passed the House and Senate earlier this week by overwhelming margins. But he pulled out at the last minute on Wednesday morning, citing his demand that lawmakers “pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT.”
What’s the SAVE America Act? It’s a new voter ID measure that Trump has set his heart on, which would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, in order to register to vote, as well as photo ID in order to actually cast their vote
Trump has repeatedly demanded that Republicans link the SAVE America Act to unrelated bills or change Senate rules to make it easier to pass, to no avail. Under current rules, it would require 60 votes — including seven Democratic votes — to clear the Senate, which won’t happen.
Why does Trump care? Voter fraud allegations are a longtime obsession of Trump’s, even prior to his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. In reality, there’s no evidence it’s a major issue in American elections. But he has insisted that Republicans will “never win another Election” if the SAVE America Act isn’t passed.
So, what happens to the housing bill? Once a bill passes Congress and is submitted to the president, there are three things that can happen:
In this case, it’s unclear whether the bill has been transmitted to Trump yet. Even if he vetoes it, however — which he hasn’t specifically threatened — it’s likely Congress could override that veto.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
This week, my colleagues over at the Unexplainable podcast are pondering the big questions — like, is lightning actually caused by cosmic rays? And why don’t birds play chess? You can listen here to find out.
Thanks for reading, have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!