Trump says he won't sign other laws until election bill reaches his desk

Niels Lesniewski, CQ-Roll Call on Mar 9, 2026

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday declared that he would not sign other legislation until a sweeping election operations overhaul headlined by new voter ID requirements reaches his desk – even as there’s no sign the bill can get the votes needed to pass the Senate.

“It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else,” Trump posted on Truth Social, referring to the bill known as the SAVE America Act.

That could serve as a table-setter for the president’s interactions with Congress this week. The House is not in session this week, but the chamber’s Republicans are huddling at Trump National Doral Miami, aiming to set the agenda for the year ahead of the midterms.

Trump himself is expected to address members of the House Republican Conference during the gathering at his property.

The social media post was itself not exactly a veto threat, as in most circumstances bills can become law notwithstanding the president’s declining to sign them. Nonetheless, the president’s position underscores the extent to which he’s prioritizing the SAVE America Act over other business including even funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, appearing on the Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” program, indicated ending the partial shutdown of Homeland Security remained a priority, while also highlighting a call for Senate action to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to be the next secretary.

“We are totally confident Sen. Mullin will be confirmed, and we’re going to work with the Senate to make sure that happens as quickly as possible,” Leavitt said.

Mullin is Trump’s pick to succeed Kristi Noem, whom the president removed from the post last week. Eyes this week are also on Oklahoma GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt, who will make a temporary appointment to fill Mullin’s seat, as well as much of the state’s GOP House delegation to see who might seek a promotion in November.

There’s no reason to think, however, that Noem’s ouster will change the funding dynamics, as Senate Democrats continue to spar with the Trump administration over changes to immigration enforcement.

Questions for the GOP retreat

Among the top questions for the House Republicans at their issues conference is whether the narrow House majority comes away with a plan for pursuing a second round of budget reconciliation in order to give their Senate counterparts a chance to advance legislation with a party-line vote.

Some Republicans want to use such a bill to help reach Trump’s goal of $1.5 trillion in Defense spending in fiscal 2027.

Trump could propose that Congress use reconciliation for at least some Defense spending in the administration’s budget request, which is expected around the end of the month.

But the president could send Congress a more pressing request sooner than that, possibly this week — supplemental funding for the war in Iran. Lawmakers said last week that they expected the request to be sent to the Hill soon, though an exact timeframe and dollar amount remain an open question.

Housing work continues in Senate

The Senate, meanwhile, aims to wrap up work on a bipartisan housing bill as the partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department continues.

Before the Senate adjourned Thursday, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., moved to limit debate on a substitute amendment from Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., and ranking Democrat Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as the underlying House-passed bill.

That sets up for the possibility that the Senate will wrap up work on the bipartisan measure this week, kicking it back to the House. House Financial Services Chairman French Hill, an Arkansas Republican, has highlighted concerns of House members about the Senate product, including central bank digital currency language.

“There are members concerned that the threat of a Central Bank Digital Currency is actually heightened because of the language in the bill,” Hill said in a statement.

Hill was referring to a provision that wasn’t included in either of the original House or Senate bills that would place restrictions on the Federal Reserve’s ability to issue a digital currency, a priority for House conservatives. A Hill spokesperson said the concern is the expiration of the restrictions at the end of 2030. Some House members want it to be permanent.

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—Aidan Quigley and Mark Schoeff Jr. contributed to this report.