Deadlines can be rough. Two years seems like a long time at the outset, but in the blink of an eye, you find yourself wondering what you have to show for the months that flew by. That’s the situation lawmakers on Capitol Hill are in: The fast-approaching midterm elections have prompted a bipartisan scramble to get something passed to show off to the voters this fall.
Republican lawmakers are right to worry, given their few legislative accomplishments and the harsh treatment the president’s party typically receives in midterms. You would think these factors would prompt the White House to hustle in support of bills that might raise the odds of holding onto the House and Senate next year. But President Donald Trump is pursuing a very different vision of what victory will look like this fall.
The GOP’s partisan push to fund Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol is sucking up most of the air in the Capitol. But despite the tensions surrounding the reconciliation bill, Politico reported that politicians in both parties hope to pass major bills before fleeing Washington to hit the campaign trail:
Before next week’s Memorial Day recess, GOP lawmakers will try to pass bipartisan measures on affordable housing and college athletics regulation.
Legislation with Republican and Democratic backers regulating cryptocurrencies, overhauling the energy permitting process, governing AI use, boosting U.S. manufacturing and reauthorizing a landmark public lands package are also in the works for the coming months.
You wouldn’t know any of that based on Trump’s public comments. He instead spent Tuesday morning yet again defending the White House ballroom he’s building where the East Wing once stood. His legislative aides pressed some wavering GOP senators on including $1 billion in “security funding” for the ballroom project in the immigration bill.
An even more telling example of the president’s priorities was his treatment of a bill meant to help close the country’s massive housing shortage. This weekend, Trump attempted to throw a landmine into the talks over the bill.
“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT MUST BE PASSED, NOW,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “Use the Housing and FISA Bills to get it done! … Voter I.D., and Proof of Citizenship, must be approved, NOW. Crooked Mail-In Voting must be stopped!!! PUT IT ALL IN THE HOUSING AND FISA BILLS.”
The SAVE America Act is one of the few bills Trump has obsessed over in his second term. If passed, the bill would require providing documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and mandate voter ID at polls nationwide. Trump previously threatened not to sign any new legislation that hit his desk before it passed. Passing the bill “will guarantee the midterms,” he told GOP lawmakers in March when issuing his pledge. “If you don’t get it, big trouble, my opinion.”
This all speaks to Trump’s well-known disdain for free and fair elections. While some Republicans are trying to rewrite history, remember that it was the White House that kicked off the midcycle redistricting wars last year by pressing Texas to redraw its congressional map. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., reportedly told donors this week that the gerrymandering spree across the country may net 7-8 seats this fall for Republicans.
While Trump’s impulse control issues are no secret, it’s still striking that he thinks a shortcut “will guarantee the midterms.” In an ideal world, legislators are sent to Washington to do the hard work of writing laws that benefit their constituents and the country more broadly. Should they fail to do so, voters can show their displeasure during the next election, rewarding lawmakers who can deliver on their promises.
But there’s no room in Trump’s world for either the uncertainty of elections where your opponent could win or the effort needed to pass laws that help voters. After all, this is the same person who declared that not paying taxes “makes me smart.” This is as close to an avatar of the Grasshopper in Aesop’s Fable as has ever occupied the Oval Office. For now, the House has chosen to ignore Trump, moving forward with the housing bill this week without any effort to attach the SAVE America Act to it. But Trump’s repeated demands to pass the unpopular bill only re-emphasize that his preference is to win elections the lazy way, with as little effort as possible.
Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MS NOW. He focuses on policymaking at the federal level, including Congress and the White House.