TV News LIES

A major housing bill will go into effect at midnight on Saturday without Donald Trump’s signature, after the president said he would refuse to sign the legislation because Congress has not approved new restrictions on voting nationwide.

The measure, known as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, is the biggest change to federal policy for buyers, renters and homebuilders in decades, and Congress approved it with large margins last month after lengthy negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.

But Trump has tied the bill to the Save America Act, which would impose a host of new restrictions on voters and state election officials nationwide ahead of November’s midterm elections, in which Republicans will be defending their majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives. A version of the Save America Act passed the House in February, but it is opposed by Senate Democrats and lacks the votes in that chamber to overcome the filibuster.

Last month, Trump canceled a signing ceremony for the housing bill, denying his Republican allies an opportunity to publicly highlight their efforts to address housing affordability, which surveys indicate is a top concern among voters.

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A House Oversight Committee panel on Tuesday morning will weigh in on the CIA’s former MK-Ultra project — which for two decades used universities to test behavioral drugs and modification theories.

The Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), has amplified her push to uncover more details of the project. Earlier this year, Luna accused the CIA of pulling relevant documents from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which the department denied, and has called for more transparency on the alleged mind-control program.

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House Democratic leadership on Tuesday urged members to vote with their conscience on a controversial amendment to cut U.S. funding for Israel, underscoring deep divisions in the caucus over America’s relations with the Jewish state.

Fiscal hawk Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) sponsored the amendment, seeking to add it to a national security and State Department spending bill that is expected to come up for a vote this week. The text of Massie’s amendment says none of the funds of the act will be made available for Israel and lowers overall spending in the bill by $3.3 billion.

After a Democratic caucus meeting in which Massie’s bill was a focus of debate, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) expressed shock at the fraught conversations around Israel in his conference.

“I’ve been around a long time, I’ve never seen it,” he said. 

Thompson said conversations centered around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, and noted deeply negative views of the long-time Israeli leader among young, Democratic voters.

Many of these voters have adopted a view that Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, launched after the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack, amounted to a campaign of genocide against Palestinians living there. Congressional Democrats have also raised urgent concern over Israel’s policies towards Palestinians in the West Bank.

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Both chambers of Congress have now signaled support for ending the war in Iran, reflecting lawmakers' escalating unease with the conflict as President Donald Trump struggles to bring it to an official close.

Amid several Republican defections and absences, the Senate on June 23 passed a war powers resolution for the first time to end U.S. military hostilities in the war. The vote was 50-48.

The measure, which was largely symbolic and not actually binding, passed the House of Representatives weeks ago. It will not go to the president's desk.

Four GOP senators – Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky – voted with Democrats in favor of the resolution. Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania did not vote. McConnell was recently hospitalized for an unspecified health issue. McCormick was at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.

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The Senate on Monday overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering housing costs, sending the legislation to the House.

The rare show of near-unanimous support comes as lawmakers hustle to score wins on affordability that they can trumpet back home during a midterm campaign cycle that has focused heavily on rising costs.

The bill, which the Senate approved on an 85-5 vote, is expected to pass the House this week and head to President Trump, who is expected to sign it. 

Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have been driving the package in the Senate, along with their House counterparts, Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).

Scott, speaking on the floor to tout the bill, said young people today feel similarly to how he felt in his youth.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Monday said the Senate will attempt to pass an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s (FISA) enhanced surveillance powers without the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act attached, rebuffing President Trump’s demand to link the two bills.

Thune, who has repeatedly warned that letting Section 702 of FISA expire poses a risk to national security, said he would try to move an extension of the controversial surveillance law as a stand-alone measure. The provision, which allows the U.S. to spy on foreigners located abroad without a warrant, lapsed over the weekend.

“We will try and move 702 as soon as we feel like we have the votes to do it,” Thune told reporters.

The GOP leader told Punchbowl News on his way into the Capitol earlier Monday that it would be “unrealistic” to get the SAVE America Act passed simply by attaching it to an extension of FISA authorities.

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