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stand up america
'Totally Crazy': Trump Holds Bipartisan Housing Bill Hostage to Push Evisceration of Voting Rights
"Trump just threw a tantrum," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren. "He's refusing to sign bipartisan legislation to make housing more affordable in a bizarre effort to try to rig the elections."
Jun 24, 2026
Congress this week passed a bipartisan bill "to build more housing, lower costs, and stop private equity's housing grab," as US Sen. Elizabeth Warren highlighted after the final vote, but President Donald Trump on Wednesday scrapped his plans to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act over a stalled GOP attack on voting rights.
Trump initially took a swipe at Warren (D-Mass.) on his Truth Social platform Wednesday morning, writing that "the Elizabeth 'Pocahontas' Warren centric housing bill, which is of minor importance compared to lower interest rates, and even FISA, pales in comparison to passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. That is what Americans, both Dumocrats, Republicans, and everyone else, care about."
"Get the bad Republicans to approve it or, better yet, Terminate the Filibuster and approve it, AND EVERYTHING ELSE REPUBLICANS HAVE EVER DREAMED OF," Trump continued. "The Dumocrats will do it in hour one, 100%. Republicans will feel very stupid if they don’t do it first. I'll be watching with tears in my eyes!!!"
Less than an hour later, he added, "Today's Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency."
Trump and other backers of the anti-voter bill argue it is needed to prevent undocumented immigrants from voting in US elections—which is already illegal, and research shows is remarkably rare. Critics warn that the legislation would disenfranchise eligible voters who lack access to proof-of-citizenship documents.
While Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) responded by stressing that he and other Republicans in the House of Representatives support the SAVE America Act, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said the canceled ceremony was Trump's "call to make" but expressed hope that he'll "find his way to sign" the housing bill, other lawmakers—including Warren—and supporters of the legislation took aim at the president over his move.
"Congress overwhelmingly passed a housing bill to bring down costs. But Trump just threw a tantrum," Warren wrote on social media. "He's refusing to sign bipartisan legislation to make housing more affordable in a bizarre effort to try to rig the elections. Nope—I'll keep fighting to lower housing costs."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told journalists that "Trump is running away from one of the very few accomplishments that could actually help the American people," and urged the president not to veto the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
Approved by the Senate in an 85-5 vote on Monday and the House in a 358-32 vote on Tuesday, the bill contains dozens of provisions to promote the rebuilding of older homes and development of vacant buildings, encourage local governments to build more housing, streamline regulations for construction, ban corporate investors from buying single-family homes to rent out, and more.
Stressing that the bill passed "overwhelmingly in a bipartisan way," and would "save American families a lot of money when it comes to housing," Sen. Andy Kim (D-Calif.) said that "I honestly can't believe that the president is holding this hostage."
"I hope the American people see this for what it is, which is that he doesn't care at all about the high cost of living that a lot of Americans are struggling with," Kim declared. "He doesn't care about the housing crisis. He is just continuing to push forward on his extreme agenda."
In the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) replied to the president: "The housing crisis is a national emergency. Do something to make life more affordable for hardworking American taxpayers. Sign the bill."
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) pointed to Trump's campaign pledges, writing: "The president who promised lower costs on Day 1 is refusing to sign the largest housing affordability bill in a generation. It's a slap in the face to millions of Americans struggling to afford a place to live. My Republican colleagues need to find some courage and stand up to this mad king."
In a video, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) warned the public that Trump "is taking away your housing for his personal projects that can never pass and are unconstitutional."
Longtime human rights advocate Kenneth Roth, who's now a visiting professor at Princeton University, similarly summarized: "Trump to America: I [couldn't] care less about affordable housing. So I won't sign a bill to advance it unless Congress endorses my autocratic efforts to restrict the right to vote."
Although Trump has not decisively said whether he will formally block the bill, Roth wondered, "Will the Republicans have the backbone to override his veto?"
Either way, The New York Times noted that "Trump's decision threatened to deprive Republicans, in particular, of an opportunity to showcase a legislative success in a year with very few of them—one that spoke directly to voters' economic concerns."
In a Wednesday statement, Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, looked to the midterm elections, in which Democrats aim to retake majorities in both chambers of Congress.
"Donald Trump has been clear: The SAVE Act is his #1 legislative priority—not lowering costs for working people, creating good-paying jobs, or helping families afford a roof over their heads," said Edkins. "Today, he decided it was more important to help Republicans avoid accountability for the cost-of-living crisis than actually do something about it."
"Trump was born on third base, and it shows. He has no clue what it’s like to struggle to make rent, save for a down payment, pay a mortgage, or worry that your kids will be able to afford a home of their own," he added. "Trump could've signed bipartisan legislation today to help lower housing costs and give Republicans something—anything—to show voters that they deserve reelection this November. Instead, he told working families to screw themselves. It's selfish, petty, and self-defeating."
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Voting Rights Groups Vow to Fight ‘Extreme New Gerrymander’ After Florida Lawmakers Pass DeSantis Map
"If they think they can get away with trampling over the will of the voters and ignoring the state constitution’s ban on partisan gerrymandering, they are sorely mistaken," said one voting rights advocate.
Apr 29, 2026
The Florida state Legislature on Wednesday passed Gov. Ron DeSantis' proposed redrawn congressional map aimed at netting four new seats for Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections—but voting rights organizations are vowing to fight back.
As reported by Politico, the map was "approved largely along partisan lines, even though a handful of GOP state senators voted no," while "Democrats maintained the map was illegal because it runs counter to voter-approved, anti-gerrymandering standards in Florida."
However, Politico noted that "the new map is also destined to trigger a messy legal battle that could play out in both state and federal courts," and voting rights groups are ready to put up a fight.
John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), slammed DeSantis for drawing up what he described as an "extreme new gerrymander" that "was drawn behind closed doors because he knows the voters overwhelmingly oppose this partisan power grab."
Just because the map passed the state Legislature, Bisognano added, that doesn't make it a done deal.
"If they think they can get away with trampling over the will of the voters and ignoring the state constitution’s ban on partisan gerrymandering, they are sorely mistaken," he said. "This fight is not over, and Florida Republicans can expect fierce legal challenges against this new gerrymander."
Brad Ashwell, Florida director at All Voting is Local Action, argued that the new map was just the latest example of DeSantis trying to suppress voters in the state.
"DeSantis’ legacy will always be tied to the erosion of voting rights in Florida," he said. "The ridiculous creation of an election police force, the laws that attacked popular voting methods like voting by mail and early voting, and now mid-decade redistricting—all have been used to keep voters from the ballot box and control the results of our elections."
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at Stand Up America, described the new Florida map as "a desperate attempt to rig the 2026 midterms and protect [President] Donald Trump and his sycophants in Congress," and he warned of political consequences for the GOP.
"While these new maps will make it harder to hold Trump and Congress accountable, in America, power rests with the people," he said, "and the people will not forget this assault on their freedom to vote in November."
Trump in 2025 sparked an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting battle when he pushed Texas to redraw its congressional map to gain extra Republican seats, and GOP-led states North Carolina and Missouri soon followed suit.
However, Democrats in California and Virginia struck back with their own redrawn maps that are backed by those states' voters and projected to nullify the advantage Republicans hoped to gain with their mid-decade gerrymandering gambit.
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DOJ Investigating Omar Called 'Continuation of Trump’s Revenge Campaign'
"Your support is collapsing and you’re panicking," Rep. Ilhan Omar said in response to the president.
Jan 26, 2026
Rep. Ilhan Omar on Monday swiftly hit back at President Donald Trump after he announced that the US Department of Justice had launched an investigation into her family's finances.
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that the DOJ is "looking at" Omar, whom the president described as having "left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars."
A detailed analysis of Omar's financial disclosures published by Snopes last week found that that while Omar's family net worth had jumped since she was first sworn into Congress in 2019, practically all of it was due to business ventures founded by her husband, Tim Mynett.
"The majority of value from the listed assets came from two businesses run by Mynett... and were thus labeled as 'Partnership Income,'" Snopes explained. "Omar's filing valued Mynett's winery, eSt Cru Wines, at about $1 million to $5 million. Mynett's venture capital management company, Rose Lake Capital, was valued between $5 million and $25 million."
Omar responded to Trump's claims of DOJ investigation by accusing him of trying to hide his own failures.
"Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking," the Minnesota Democrat wrote in a social media post. "Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of 'investigations' have found nothing. Get your goons out of Minnesota."
Christina Harvey, executive director of Stand Up America, accused Trump of once again weaponizing the US Department of Justice to target his political opponents.
"The Justice Department’s ‘investigation’ of Representative Omar, a longtime critic of President Trump," Harvey said, "looks suspiciously like a continuation of Trump’s revenge campaign against Minnesota’s elected officials and anyone else who disagrees with him."
Trump last year directly pressured US Attorney General Pam Bondi to indict several political opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Comey and James were both subsequently indicted, and the DOJ has since launched criminal probes into other Trump critics, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
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