After both houses of Congress overwhelmingly passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act yesterday, a quick signature by President Trump was expected. Trump, however, instead chose to hold the legislation hostage to another piece of legislation, the SAVE America Act requring voter ID to vote and basically outlawing mail-in ballots except in rare cases. He says the act is crucial to winning in the November midterms.
This is where matters get both interesting and illustrative. Trump attended a meeting with Republican Senators in the Capitol today to discuss both pieces of legislation — along with the Iranian conflict. It was over Iran that matters heated up. Trump himself brought up the subject in light of a Senate resolution requiring him to end the war, passed yesterday with the support of a handful of Republican Senators.
One of those Senators was Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, whose recent defeat in his state’s primary came on the heels of Trump’s support for his opponent. Cassidy and Trump reportedly got intp a virtual shouting match over his Iran vote, with the president calling him a “loser.” At one point, Trump told Cassidy to “sit down,” and Cassidy replied that no one tells him to sit down.
“I made it clear that I wasn’t going to be bullied, and made it clear that I think we need answers [about Iran],” Cassidy said afterward. “And that was that.”
Other GOP Senators voting yes on the resolution were Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, not one of the resolution yea voters, described Trump as “mad as a murder hornet.”
Trump for weeks has been urging Senator John Thune, the majority leader from South Dakota, to revoke the filibuster rule to pass the SAVE Act. Thune has consistently replied that he doesn’t have the votes to do so. At today’s lunch, Trump urged him to use a “talking filibuster” to force Democrats to stay on the floor to block the bill during a vote. Republicans in the Senate don’t believe that will work either.
The meeting evidently ended with decorum restored. Afterward, Trump praised Thune and said: “We like our leader. We like everybody really in the room — I don’t like a few people, but that’s OK. I think you know who they are.”
