Trump threatens to crowd out Republicans' midterm message

House Republicans flocked to President Donald Trump's golf club near Miami on Monday for their annual policy retreat, seeking to carve out a legislative agenda that could blunt the strong headwinds they are facing in the midterm elections.

But that effort was unfolding in the shadow of an unusual challenge: their own president, who stood before them and renewed his threat to hold those efforts hostage by refusing to sign any legislation until Congress passes strict voting restrictions, undercutting their political message.


With polls suggesting that Republicans' chances of keeping control of the House are slimming, dozens of members announcing their exits and a razor-thin majority that makes advancing must-pass bills a challenge, lawmakers are eager to shift the focus to their plans to address Americans' economic stress.

But Trump has muddled their message. In a winding speech on Monday afternoon, he said that House Republicans should act quickly to address a number of cost-of-living issues, including to make health care, prescription drugs and housing more affordable.

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But almost immediately, he effectively neutered those pleas by saying he would not sign any legislation until Congress passed a voter identification measure that faces long odds in the Senate. He also demanded that the bill be packaged with provisions to significantly curtail the use of mail-in ballots -- another measure that has little chance of advancing in the Senate -- and unrelated provisions targeting transgender athletes and children.

"This is the No. 1 priority and should be for the House," Trump said, directly addressing Republican leaders. Moments later, he added, "I'm not going to sign anything until this is approved."

As they spend the rest of their retreat huddling in ballrooms at the Trump National Doral Miami, a golf club where Trump-branded products are on sale and photos of Trump line the walls, Republicans will be forced to contend with how they can demonstrate to voters that they are responsive to cost-of-living issues while grappling with a presidential blockade that would threaten their ability to advance any legislation that tackles them.

Their policy agenda also risks being overshadowed by the war in Iran, which has shaken the financial markets and sent oil prices soaring, further rattling Americans concerned about costs. Lawmakers said last week that they expected the Pentagon to ask Congress approve a special funding package to address the costs of a military operation.

And the Republican retreat comes as Congress is locked in a stalemate over funding the Homeland Security Department, as voters show growing concern over the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown.

Trump's demand was intended to pressure Republicans in the Senate, where he has urged leaders to force an old-school filibuster that would require Democrats to hold the floor in order to block legislation.

But his proposed legislation is also meant to amplify the president's groundless claims of rigged elections, which Trump has made for years without any evidence of widespread fraud.

In his speech on Monday, Trump baselessly accused Democrats of trying to cheat to win elections. Then, the president acknowledged what Democrats have for months been claiming: that the voting restrictions would give Republicans an advantage in November's elections, and enacting them may be the only way for them to avoid major losses that would cost them their majority.

"I'm making my biggest plea tonight," Trump said. "It'll make you -- and I'm not doing it for this reason at all -- it'll guarantee the midterms. It'll guarantee the midterms.

"If you don't get it," he added, "big trouble."

House Republicans, many of whom have backed the president's claims of election fraud, already passed a strict voter identification measure, the SAVE America Act, last month. It has stalled in the Senate, where it lacks enough support to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold.

But even that bill, passed at Trump's urging, falls short of his current demands. It did not include blanket restrictions on voting by mail that Trump has pushed for, which are in a separate measure that has yet to advance.

Neither bill contains language on transgender children and athletes that seems intended to force Democrats to contend with a politically potent issue about which many of them remain uncomfortable.

In his speech on Monday, Trump said he had urged Speaker Mike Johnson to go back to the drawing board and pass yet another version of his voter-identification law.

"Draw a new one with these few things added, and let's go for the gold," Trump explained. "Let's not just get one."

Trump has argued that mail-in voting is rife with fraud and wants to limit its use to people serving in the military, those traveling on Election Day or individuals whose illnesses or disabilities prevent them from going to the polls.

But those provisions may struggle to win support in the House from swing-district lawmakers in blue states and representatives from conservative rural areas where mail voting remains popular.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the majority leader, has signaled that he would prefer to avoid a filibuster that could choke the Senate's ability to pass legislation that Republicans believe can address voters' concerns over affordability, including a housing measure that could receive a vote as soon as this week.

"If we can get some stuff done up here, I hope we can get some things signed into law," Thune told reporters in Washington. Still, he acknowledged that the president's threat hovered over the Senate's work. "But that's a question, I think probably for him."