Trump leaves major housing bill in limbo, demanding Congress pass the SAVE Act
By Brennan Leach, Kyle Stewart, Melanie Zanona and Alexandra Bacallao WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his plans to sign a major, bipartisan housing bill Wednesday, saying he will not do so until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a sweeping elections bill that has become a focal point of his second term. “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,” he said on Truth Social. It was not clear whether he still plans to sign the housing bill or veto it. Trump did not
Senate passes bill to lower housing costs and restrict Wall Street from buying homes
By Sahil Kapur WASHINGTON — The Senate voted overwhelmingly Monday to pass a sweeping housing affordability bill aimed at lowering costs, putting Congress on the brink of a rare bipartisan victory in President Donald Trump’s second term. The vote was 85-5. Several senators missed the vote due to severe thunderstorms in the Washington area that led to a ground stop at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The legislation, which would make it easier to build homes and slap limits on Wall Street investors’ buying up houses, now goes to the House, which hopes to vote on it in the next few days. Then, it would go
Sen. Cory Booker says people should be ‘very worried’ about Trump and Israel upending peace in the Middle East
By Megan Lebowitz Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday that people should be “very worried” about President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upending viable pathways to peace in the Middle East as fragile ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran are underway in Switzerland. Asked whether he believed Israel was a reliable partner in peace negotiations with Iran, Booker criticized the leaders of both countries. “Between Israel and America, we have two criminal presidents,” Booker said, pointing to Trump’s prior conviction and Netanyahu’s corruption trial. “These are two failed world leaders,” he added later. “And
Republicans in Washington on edge over Iran deal as Trump touts its merits
By Jonathan Allen, Katherine Doyle, Sahil Kapur, Allan Smith and Henry J. Gomez President Donald Trump is framing a tentative peace deal with Iran as a victory for the U.S., but fractures in the Republican Party suggest that could be a hard sell both on Capitol Hill and in the run-up to November’s midterm elections. “It’s a very strong deal,” Trump said at the G7 summit in France on Wednesday, seated across from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. “Nobody knows what it is, but it’s very strong.” The early response from Republican leaders and the conservative commentariat is mixed at best, in part because not everyone
Billionaire Rick Jackson defeats Trump-backed Burt Jones for the GOP nomination in Georgia governor’s race
By Adam Edelman Billionaire businessman Rick Jackson won the Republican primary runoff in Georgia’s race for governor, NBC News projects, defeating President Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. Jackson, a healthcare executive and first-time candidate who poured more than $100 million of his own money into his campaign, will face Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in the November general election in the battleground state. With most of the expected vote tallied, Jackson led Jones 53% to 47%. The contest, which went to a runoff after neither Jackson nor Jones won 50% of the vote in the May 19 primary, boiled down
Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George opens up lead in Washington, D.C., mayoral primary
By Alexandra Marquez City Council member Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist, leads the pack in the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, D.C., as the city continues to tally later-arriving ballots. With about two-thirds of the expected vote counted, Lewis George has 53% of the first-place votes, with former City Council member Kenyan McDuffie — who previously held a citywide at-large council seat — in second place at 37%. The rest of the vote is scattered among five other Democratic hopefuls. With more votes to count, it’s not clear whether the race will go to a ranked-choice tabulation, which is
Ted Cruz urges passage of ‘Protect College Sports’ act, warns HBCUs if it doesn’t
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a co-author of the Protect College Sports Act, is urging the Congressional Black Caucus to support the bill, per a report by Roll Call. Cruz and Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell have been reaching out to Congressional Black Caucus members to gather input and secure their support for the bill in both the House and the Senate. The CBC is standing firm on its decision not to support it over voting redistricting efforts in several Southern states. The proposed Protect College Sports Act, introduced by Cruz and Blackburn, would provide the NCAA with limited antitrust exemptions to enforce several eligibility and roster-management
Trump tests and looming battleground races highlight Tuesday’s primaries
By Bridget Bowman, Adam Edelman and Ben Kamisar President Donald Trump’s endorsement will once again be put to the test in multiple Republican primaries on Tuesday, which will also mark the kickoff of major general election campaigns for Senate and governor in battleground Georgia. Voters head to the polls for primaries in Oklahoma, as well as the District of Columbia, where the battle for mayor has highlighted broader divides in the Democratic Party. And Alabama and Georgia are holding primary runoffs in races where no candidate won a majority of the primary vote on May 19. In California, voters in the 14th Congressional District
South Carolina Republicans pushing to block HBCU project funding after controversy
South Carolina State University is now part of state budget negotiations as the fallout continues from the Pamela Evette commencement controversy as some republicans eye the state’s only public HBCU. The latest development centers on $5 million in proposed funding for a convocation center at SC State. According to WIS, several Republicans in the General Assembly have urged members of the budget conference committee to block that money after the university removed Evette as its commencement speaker. Evette, South Carolina’s lieutenant governor, had been scheduled to speak at SC State’s May 8 commencement. The university later changed course following days of student protests and cited security
