House Republicans flocked to President Trump’s golf club near Miami on Monday for their annual policy retreat, seeking to carve out a legislative agenda that could blunt the strong headwinds they are facing in the midterm elections.
But that effort was unfolding in the shadow of an unusual challenge: their own president, who has threatened to hold those efforts hostage by refusing to sign any legislation until Congress passes strict voting restrictions, undercutting their political message.
With polls suggesting that Republicans’ chances of keeping control of the House are slimming, dozens of members announcing their exits and a razor-thin majority that makes advancing must-pass bills a challenge, lawmakers are eager to shift the focus to their plans to address Americans’ economic stress.
But Mr. Trump on Sunday vowed not to sign any bill cleared by Congress until Republicans passed a voter identification measure that also includes provisions to significantly curtail the use of mail-in ballots and unrelated provisions targeting transgender athletes and children.
And so as they huddle in ballrooms at the Trump National Doral Miami, a golf club where Trump-branded products are on sale and photos of Mr. Trump line the walls, Republicans will be forced to contend with how they can demonstrate to voters that they are responsive to cost-of-living issues in the face of a presidential blockade that would threaten their ability to advance any legislation that tackles them.
Their policy agenda also risks being overshadowed by the war in Iran, which has shaken the financial markets and sent oil prices soaring, further rattling Americans concerned about costs. Lawmakers said last week that they expected the Pentagon to ask Congress approve a special funding package to address the costs of a military operation.
And the Republican retreat comes as Congress is locked in a stalemate over funding the Homeland Security Department, as voters show growing concern over the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
Mr. Trump was scheduled to address Republicans on Monday evening, and he was certain to once again push for election legislation.
His demand seems intended to pressure Republicans in the Senate, where he has urged leaders to force an old-school filibuster that would require Democrats to hold the floor in order to block legislation.
House Republicans, many of whom have backed or amplified the president’s baseless claims of rigged elections, already passed a strict voter identification measure, the Save America Act, last month. It has stalled in the Senate, where it lacks enough support to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
But even that bill, passed at Mr. Trump’s urging, falls short of his current demands. It did not include blanket restrictions on voting by mail that Mr. Trump has pushed for, which are in a separate measure that has yet to advance, and neither contains language on transgender children and athletes that seems intended to force Democrats to contend with a politically potent issue about which many of them remain uncomfortable.
Mr. Trump has argued that mail-in voting is rife with fraud and wants to limit its use to people serving in the military, those traveling on Election Day or individuals whose illnesses or disabilities prevent them from going to the polls.
But those provisions may struggle to win support in the House from swing-district lawmakers in blue states and representative from conservative rural areas where mail voting remains popular.
Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, has signaled that he would prefer to avoid a filibuster that could choke the Senate’s ability to pass legislation that Republicans believe can address voters’ concerns over affordability, including a housing measure that could receive a vote as soon as this week.
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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