President Trump is refusing to sign a sweeping housing reform bill that passed with rare bipartisan support unless the Senate first passes his restrictive voting measure, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and left the most significant housing legislation in decades in limbo.
The 21st Century Road to Housing Act won overwhelming majorities in both chambers after months of negotiations and was poised to increase housing supply and lower costs ahead of the midterm elections. But Trump declared the bill of "minor importance" on Wednesday morning and announced he will withhold his signature until Congress approves the Save America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and severely curtail mail-in voting.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer lashed out at the decision. "It's utterly amazing," Schumer said. "Trump is running away from one of the very few accomplishments that could actually help the American people."
Housing affordability looms large as a voter concern heading into the November midterms, making the bill's passage a rare moment of legislative common ground. Democrats and Republicans both championed the legislation, but Trump's linkage of it to his voting agenda threatens to derail the housing measure and inject his election priorities into the bipartisan effort.
The standoff comes as Trump faces mounting legal challenges to his voting agenda. A federal judge blocked his executive order requiring proof of citizenship at voter registration this week, dealing another blow to his efforts to reshape election rules unilaterally.
Meanwhile, other controversies continued to swirl around the Trump administration. A federal judge ordered the administration to explain why it placed a tarp over the Kennedy Center's facade after Trump's name was removed from the building following a court ruling that his name had been unlawfully added in December. The judge demanded a response by July 31.
A Republican senator who lost re-election after Trump backed a primary challenger got into a heated argument with the president on Wednesday over discontent in Congress regarding the Iran war and the pressure Trump is applying for GOP passage of new voting restrictions nationwide.
In other developments, Trump said he ordered the Department of Justice to investigate oil companies for alleged price gouging, claiming they have not lowered gas prices sufficiently amid Middle East tensions.
The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, undergoing a $14.7 million renovation ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations, has descended into crisis with algae blooms, peeling paint, and dead ducks appearing just days before the milestone. Trump and the Interior Department are facing pressure to release photographic and video evidence supporting their claims that sabotage caused the damage.
On the technology front, a new report revealed the explosive growth of surveillance tools deployed by immigration authorities during Trump's second term, documenting how federal spending on AI and advanced tracking technology to locate and monitor migrants has reached record levels.
In personnel news, the commander of U.S. forces in Europe and Africa, who was the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan in 2021, unexpectedly stepped down from his post after just 18 months, the Army confirmed Tuesday.
Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she has stopped backing the Republican Party and is now aligning with television host Tucker Carlson, who himself recently rejected GOP affiliation. The move comes months before the midterms.
Eleven senators sent a letter to Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging them to remove a federal website promoting anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers and to stop using taxpayer resources to direct people to such facilities.
Elon Musk's net worth dipped below $1 trillion by market close Wednesday as Tesla and SpaceX shares plunged, with Forbes listing his fortune at $970.2 billion as of 4 p.m. ET, returning him to billionaire rather than trillionaire status.
NASA's Perseverance rover detected complex carbon molecules in Martian rocks that scientists are examining for potential signatures of ancient microbial life.
Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp in Texas where 28 people died in a catastrophic flood in July, filed for bankruptcy, according to court records.
Author James Rodriguez: "Holding a housing bill hostage to force through voting restrictions is hardball politics at its most cynical, and it reveals Trump's true priorities regardless of what voters actually need right now."
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