President Donald Trump’s pledge to cease signing payments till the Senate passes a hard-line voter-ID measure is already inflicting heartburn for Republicans, with GOP senators warning {that a} standoff might freeze the president’s personal agenda.
Democrats, nevertheless, have a distinct response to Trump’s menace to carry up all laws: Don’t threaten us with a very good time!
“If the president is refusing to pass his own agenda, given his agenda, that’s probably a good thing,” Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., informed reporters Monday.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., rapidly embraced Trump’s menace, after the president posted Sunday morning that he wouldn’t signal any payments till a beefed-up model of the SAVE America Act — “NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION,” Trump wrote — turns into regulation.
“If Trump is saying he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate,” Schumer posted on X Sunday morning.
“Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any circumstances,” Schumer wrote, calling the invoice “Jim Crow 2.0” and saying it might disenfranchise tens of hundreds of thousands of individuals.
Trump has repeatedly mentioned he’ll refuse to signal any extra payments into regulation till lawmakers ship him the SAVE America Act, a measure that might — among other things — require proof of citizenship to register to vote and finish most types of mail-in voting.
It’s simply the newest stress tactic to cross the invoice, as Republican senators confront the fact that they both want a handful of Democrats to assist the measure to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold — or they should change the principles of the Senate to successfully kill the filibuster.
But Republicans haven’t even secured unanimous assist from the 53 GOP senators — Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said last month she opposes the measure — not to mention a easy majority to vary how the Senate operates.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has mentioned there’s not sufficient assist to pressure a “talking filibuster,” which might require opponents to face on the ground and preserve speaking when members inevitably fail to achieve the 60-vote threshold to finish debate. Such a transfer would halt progress on different votes — like nominations, a housing invoice and a measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down for greater than three weeks.
Trump’s pledge to cease signing payments affords one other likelihood to cease the president’s legislative agenda — and Democrats are cheerfully welcoming his stand.
“I guess he’s not going to be signing many more bills,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, informed MS NOW on Monday.
Trump’s menace went past the usual Republican-backed voter-ID requirement.
“I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed,” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “AND NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION – GO FOR THE GOLD: MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. & PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP: NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS EXCEPT FOR MILITARY – ILLNESS, DISABILITY, TRAVEL: NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS: NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION FOR CHILDREN! DO NOT FAIL!!!”
Republicans hope there are exceptions to Trump’s new rule. Thune informed reporters he believes Trump has “modified it with respect to DHS,” suggesting the president would signal laws to finish the division’s shutdown.
On Monday, The Washington Examiner quoted an unnamed White House official who mentioned Trump would signal a DHS funding invoice into regulation. But Trump himself hasn’t backed down in any respect.
“I’m not gonna sign anything until this is approved,” Trump informed reporters Monday night in Florida. “I really am.”
Even if Trump has no plans to comply with by on his pledge, his rhetoric might complicate the GOP’s argument that Democrats are responsible for the DHS shutdown.
Thune, citing the DHS funding invoice and a bipartisan housing invoice, mentioned he hopes Trump received’t truly block any laws.
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“I know he’s passionate about the SAVE America Act, and I think that his statement was an expression of that,” Thune informed reporters on Monday. “But I hope, at the end of the day, that if we can move things across the floor here and actually put legislation on his desk, that he’ll find his way to sign.”
Other Republican lawmakers had been divided on the all-or-nothing techniques.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., mentioned he agrees with Trump, banking on an exception for DHS.
“Most important thing to do — other than the Homeland Security funding,” Scott informed reporters Monday.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., mentioned he nonetheless thinks the thought of a speaking filibuster is a foul one, saying it might “be several weeks long,” together with a limiteless variety of amendments.
Other Democrats had been bemused by Trump’s menace, saying he most likely doesn’t imply it.
“It’s just a temper tantrum,” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., informed MS NOW on Monday. “You know, I’ve seen him kind of do this kind of stuff before. I don’t know what he’s actually trying to do in terms of pressure. They just don’t have the votes for the SAVE America Act.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., mentioned Trump’s menace is a part of a broader plan to get rid of vote-by-mail, which is the usual in Wyden’s house state.
“It shows how passionate his commitment to unraveling the rights of law-abiding Americans is,” Wyden informed MS NOW on Monday.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., mentioned the menace “hardly leads to successful negotiations” on DHS funding.
“Part of his job is to sign bills that have been passed by the Congress,” Blumenthal informed reporters Monday. “He can’t hold hostage legislation that creates more housing or provides for law enforcement when the health and safety of Americans is at stake, just on the personal whim that he wants something else done.”
Kevin Frey contributed to this report.
Jack Fitzpatrick covers Congress for MS NOW. He beforehand reported for Bloomberg Government, Morning Consult and National Journal. He has bachelor’s and grasp’s levels from Arizona State University.
