Trump Urges Republican Allies to Stop Legislative Blockade

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(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump urged his party to unite around his agenda following a Thursday meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson intended to defuse escalating tensions between the White House and congressional Republicans. 

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Trump, who has frequently fueled the divides within the party, specifically called for Republicans to stop threatening to block legislation from moving through the House. The comments were seemingly aimed at his own allies, who are preventing the chamber from moving on any major legislation until the Senate passes legislation that would require voter identification, a presidential priority.  

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“Giving power to the Radical Left Dumocrats in the House to control what goes up for a Vote will make our outcomes worse, not better. No more grandstanding, please!” Trump said on Truth Social. 

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Johnson is seeking Trump’s help to quell an intra-party fight over the voter ID bill. The dispute is holding up the party’s legislative agenda and inflaming Republican divisions before November’s midterm elections. 

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“We’re on exactly the same page,” Johnson said at the Capitol following the meeting. Trump, he added, “wants to ensure that we stop any blockade in the House.”

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While the House has passed the Save America Act, the Senate has yet to act, with leaders there saying it lacks the votes to make it to Trump’s desk. 

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Trump has made clear that the voter ID measure takes precedence. On Wednesday, he refused to sign a housing reform bill until Congress passes the voting legislation. In a potential sign of progress, Johnson said he would send Trump the housing bill, a move that starts a 10-day clock for the president to either sign or veto it.  

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The House scrapped plans to vote on spending bills for the State Department and Energy Department this week and may be unable to pass annual defense authorization legislation next week.  

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“I’m going to talk with the president about these issues and how to get the agenda moving again. And it’s going to be very productive,” Johnson told reporters before the meeting.

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Johnson has sought to pitch Trump on a grant program that would encourage states to take steps to ensure voters are eligible, and approving that using a maneuver that requires just a party-line Republican vote. The president and the Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline conservative lawmakers, though have rejected that idea as insufficient.

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The clash over the voter ID bill is only one of a number of issues confronting the speaker. Johnson must also determine how to address White House requests to bolster defense spending. The White House budget office wants a $350 billion increase to the fiscal 2027 Pentagon budget along with an emergency infusion of $67 billion to cover the Iran war and related costs. 

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The speaker is trying to craft a bill to cover part or all of that defense request but Republicans would need near unanimity to approve that without relying on any Democratic votes. Freedom Caucus members demand that any more money for defense be paid for by cuts to government spending. Such cuts though are worrying to moderate Republicans in swing districts who face a tough election.