Hello readers and welcome back to On Politics. Zach Schermele here, USA TODAY's congressional correspondent. It's Wednesday. It's another crazy day on Capitol Hill. Let's get into it.
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Trump tears into housing bill prospects |
In a social media post, he said he wouldn't approve the housing reform package "until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency."
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The housing bill, which passed the Senate and House of Representatives this week, was a significant – and rare – bipartisan victory on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers and experts called it a sweeping "first step" in tackling the nation's housing crunch.
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Stalling the bill's enactment will likely enrage elements of both parties. It dramatically raises the stakes of GOP discord over the SAVE America Act ahead of a planned tête-à-tête with Senate Republicans.
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Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, said he’d be “really sad” if Trump vetoed the housing bill because of the SAVE debacle.“You’d see a grown man cry,” he said, referring to himself.
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Read more about how Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune reacted here.
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I also talked about all the drama leading into this mess on today's episode of our podcast, The Excerpt. Listen here.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani expanded his political influence last night by sweeping all three Democratic primaries for Congress, where he had made endorsements against more mainstream liberal contenders.
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As my colleague Phillip Bailey reports, the 34-year-old democratic socialist's choices were pitted against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, also from New York, in what will likely be viewed as a big and successful early test at establishing a new faction within the national party.
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Senate signals support for ending Iran war |
Both chambers of Congress have now signaled support for ending the war in Iran, reflecting lawmakers' escalating unease with the conflict as President Trump struggles to bring it to a close.
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Amid several Republican defections and absences, the Senate yesterday fully passed a war powers resolution to end U.S. military hostilities in the war for the first time. The vote was 50-48.
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Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
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President Trump abruptly canceled a big bill signing for landmark bipartisan housing legislation, saying the SAVE America Act is a bigger priority.
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