Trump State of the Union wish list faces long odds in Congress
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Congress won’t be leaping into action to pass many of President Donald Trump’s second-year priorities, with the filibuster and quiet GOP opposition standing in the way of bills he requested at his Tuesday State of the Union address.
In a nearly two-hour speech, Trump called on lawmakers to codify several policies he’s so far pursued via executive order, including drug pricing reforms and a ban on institutional investors buying up single-family homes. Others have been proposed or advanced in Congress but have not yet made their way to his desk.
In particular, Trump repeated his call for Republicans to send him the House-passed SAVE America Act, a bill mandating national voter ID and proof of citizenship when registering to vote. He also wants to ban immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses and called for a crackdown on “sanctuary” jurisdictions that won’t cooperate on immigration enforcement.
“They’re blocking the removal of these people out of our country, and you should be ashamed of yourselves,” Trump said at one point, taking a dig at Democrats in the audience.
READ IN FULL: PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH
Heeding those calls is complicated by the 60-vote Senate filibuster threshold. Republicans only have a 53-seat majority — nowhere near what is needed to overcome Democratic opposition to partisan legislation such as the voting bill.
There are also disagreements over how far to go on priorities that enjoy bipartisan support. On Tuesday, Trump received Democratic applause when he asked lawmakers to pass a ban on insider trading, but Democrats want to expand the bill favored by GOP leadership to apply to the White House, not just members of Congress. The White House has previously opposed having the ban extend to the administration, citing existing laws against insider trading.
In other cases, it’s Trump’s congressional allies who are the holdup to legislative action, with Republicans viewing proposals that intervene in the free market with skepticism. The Senate will begin debating this week a proposal meant to make housing more affordable, but Republicans have excluded the language on institutional investors.
“Those are issues that, on our side, obviously are — they’re not unanimous,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told the Washington Examiner.
Even a push to skirt the filibuster has run into a GOP split, meaning any bills Republicans do bring to the floor …
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Congress won’t be leaping into action to pass many of President Donald Trump’s second-year priorities, with the filibuster and quiet GOP opposition standing in the way of bills he requested at his Tuesday State of the Union address.
In a nearly two-hour speech, Trump called on lawmakers to codify several policies he’s so far pursued via executive order, including drug pricing reforms and a ban on institutional investors buying up single-family homes. Others have been proposed or advanced in Congress but have not yet made their way to his desk.
In particular, Trump repeated his call for Republicans to send him the House-passed SAVE America Act, a bill mandating national voter ID and proof of citizenship when registering to vote. He also wants to ban immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses and called for a crackdown on “sanctuary” jurisdictions that won’t cooperate on immigration enforcement.
“They’re blocking the removal of these people out of our country, and you should be ashamed of yourselves,” Trump said at one point, taking a dig at Democrats in the audience.
READ IN FULL: PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH
Heeding those calls is complicated by the 60-vote Senate filibuster threshold. Republicans only have a 53-seat majority — nowhere near what is needed to overcome Democratic opposition to partisan legislation such as the voting bill.
There are also disagreements over how far to go on priorities that enjoy bipartisan support. On Tuesday, Trump received Democratic applause when he asked lawmakers to pass a ban on insider trading, but Democrats want to expand the bill favored by GOP leadership to apply to the White House, not just members of Congress. The White House has previously opposed having the ban extend to the administration, citing existing laws against insider trading.
In other cases, it’s Trump’s congressional allies who are the holdup to legislative action, with Republicans viewing proposals that intervene in the free market with skepticism. The Senate will begin debating this week a proposal meant to make housing more affordable, but Republicans have excluded the language on institutional investors.
“Those are issues that, on our side, obviously are — they’re not unanimous,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told the Washington Examiner.
Even a push to skirt the filibuster has run into a GOP split, meaning any bills Republicans do bring to the floor …
Trump State of the Union wish list faces long odds in Congress
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.
Congress won’t be leaping into action to pass many of President Donald Trump’s second-year priorities, with the filibuster and quiet GOP opposition standing in the way of bills he requested at his Tuesday State of the Union address.
In a nearly two-hour speech, Trump called on lawmakers to codify several policies he’s so far pursued via executive order, including drug pricing reforms and a ban on institutional investors buying up single-family homes. Others have been proposed or advanced in Congress but have not yet made their way to his desk.
In particular, Trump repeated his call for Republicans to send him the House-passed SAVE America Act, a bill mandating national voter ID and proof of citizenship when registering to vote. He also wants to ban immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses and called for a crackdown on “sanctuary” jurisdictions that won’t cooperate on immigration enforcement.
“They’re blocking the removal of these people out of our country, and you should be ashamed of yourselves,” Trump said at one point, taking a dig at Democrats in the audience.
READ IN FULL: PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH
Heeding those calls is complicated by the 60-vote Senate filibuster threshold. Republicans only have a 53-seat majority — nowhere near what is needed to overcome Democratic opposition to partisan legislation such as the voting bill.
There are also disagreements over how far to go on priorities that enjoy bipartisan support. On Tuesday, Trump received Democratic applause when he asked lawmakers to pass a ban on insider trading, but Democrats want to expand the bill favored by GOP leadership to apply to the White House, not just members of Congress. The White House has previously opposed having the ban extend to the administration, citing existing laws against insider trading.
In other cases, it’s Trump’s congressional allies who are the holdup to legislative action, with Republicans viewing proposals that intervene in the free market with skepticism. The Senate will begin debating this week a proposal meant to make housing more affordable, but Republicans have excluded the language on institutional investors.
“Those are issues that, on our side, obviously are — they’re not unanimous,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told the Washington Examiner.
Even a push to skirt the filibuster has run into a GOP split, meaning any bills Republicans do bring to the floor …
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