Tense Trump-GOP Meeting
Trump Holds Tense Meeting with Senate Republicans After Canceling Bill Signing
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President Trump abruptly cancelled a signing ceremony for a landmark bipartisan housing bill on June 24, then marched to the Capitol for a tense closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans that devolved into shouting, according to AP News. The move stunned lawmakers who had just passed the 21st Century Road to Housing Act by overwhelming margins — 85-5 in the Senate and 358-32 in the House.
Trump posted on Truth Social at 10:30 AM that the ceremony was "hereby cancelled" until the Senate passed the SAVE America Act, his voter ID bill. NOTUS reported the announcement caught Republican leaders off guard after months of bipartisan work on the housing legislation.
Shouting Match Erupts Inside Senate Lunch
The Capitol lunch quickly turned heated. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana got into a reported shouting match with Trump over Iran policy. "I lost my temper. That's not appropriate... but I matched his tone and his volume," Cassidy told CBS News after leaving the meeting. Trump, for his part, told reporters the gathering was "great" and "unified."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune tried to hold the party together. He told Trump directly that the SAVE America Act cannot clear a Senate filibuster — it needs 60 votes and simply does not have them, according to PBS News. Sen. John Cornyn, once a reliable Trump ally, warned: "We're not on the same page now, and that I think is dangerous."
Housing Bill Stalled as Leverage for Voter ID Push
The 21st Century Road to Housing Act was one of the biggest bipartisan deals in years. It would remove federal red tape blocking new home construction, restrict hedge funds from buying single-family homes, and unlock rental assistance for 400,000 rural households, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Trump's freeze halts all of that.
Trump wants the SAVE America Act signed first. The bill requires voters to show a passport or birth certificate in person to register. The Campaign Legal Center estimates 21 million voting-age Americans lack that kind of documentation. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the housing bill a "hostage" for "a voting bill that will never pass," according to KTVN.
Iran Standoff Adds Fuel to Republican Anger
The housing fight is only part of the story. On June 23, the Senate voted 50-48 to pass a War Powers Resolution blocking U.S. military action against Iran. Four Republicans — Cassidy, Murkowski, Collins, and Paul — crossed the aisle to rebuke the President, according to TIME. Trump launched the military campaign without asking Congress first.
Now Trump is asking the Senate to approve $80 billion for munitions tied to the Iran conflict. He also proposed a $300 billion fund to help Iran rebuild — a detail that has angered many Republicans, according to 13 WHAM. The combination of the war spending, the ballroom controversy, and the housing standoff has left the GOP conference deeply fractured heading into the November midterms.
Midterm Stakes Rise as GOP Splinters Further
The political fallout is real. Trump already endorsed primary challengers against Cornyn and Cassidy — both lost their seats last month, AP News reported. Vulnerable Republican incumbents had counted on the housing bill as a key midterm talking point on affordability. Stalling it removes one of their best arguments to voters.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic co-author of the housing bill, accused Trump of showing "complete indifference to the cost squeeze on American families," according to CNBC. With the filibuster intact and Thune refusing to kill it, analysts see a total stalemate on domestic legislation for the foreseeable future.
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