President Trump cancelled Wednesday's planned signing of a landmark bipartisan housing bill, demanding Congress pass the unrelated SAVE America Act first.
Why it matters: Trump has been angling for Congress to pass the voting bill for months, and previously threatened to withhold his signature on any other legislation until lawmakers passed it.
What they're saying: "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 posted on Truth Social Wednesday morning.
Zoom in: The president's decision came as House GOP leaders were touting the housing bill's attributes during their weekly press conference.
- Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) praised the bipartisan effort to pass the bill — alongside Trump's support — mere minutes before the president's post.
- "Let's show the American people what legislating looks like," French said. "Let's show the American people how you bring together and do something on a bicameral basis, and we did that, and we did that in conjunction with President Trump and his priorities."
The intrigue: Shortly after Trump's post, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters he spoke with Trump on Wednesday morning and said the president still plans to sign the bill in the next 10 days.
- "We're delaying this, as you know, he has a window of time before he has to sign a bill, and he's going to use a little bit more of that window of time, and we're going to go through this together."
- Johnson added that the SAVE Act is important because "[Democrats] do want to allow for cheating and fraud in the elections, because it is the only way that the Marxists can win."
Between the lines: The bill becomes law regardless of Trump's signature if he doesn't take action within ten days after receiving the legislation, per the Constitution.
- It's unclear if Trump has received the bill.
- The housing package cleared both chambers of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support: 358-32 in the House and 85-5 in the Senate, meaning lawmakers could overrule a Trump veto.
Zoom out: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.), who played a key role in pushing the bill through the Senate, slammed Trump on Wednesday for halting the bill.
- "He could be over here trying to claim a victory lap, and instead, he's saying 'no no he doesn't want anything to do with it.' It's because he really doesn't care about American families."
What we're watching: Trump is expected to put pressure on Senate Republicans to pass the SAVE Act during a lunch at the Capitol later today.
- Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and others have been adamant that they do not have enough votes to pass the bill — nor eliminate the filibuster.
- Thune was on the Senate floor when Trump announced the signing cancellation and told reporters, "At this point, I don't have any observations about it.
Editors note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout.