U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump is too occupied with his new war to manage Congress, according to a new report.
Since entering the White House for the second time, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has made it clear he intends to be a "rubber stamp" for the president's demands. Punch Bowl News reported Thursday that intra-party disputes are thriving amid the absence of Trump, whose demands appear to change daily.
After finally submitting to his staff's demand to face the affordability crisis, Trump began talking about the high costs Americans face. Republicans began working with Democrats for a landmark housing bill. A month later, Trump has moved on.
Johnson told House GOP leaders this week that the president said “no one gives a [bleep] about housing," Punch Bowl reported Wednesday night. Instead, he wants to pass voting restrictions, saying that it's the only thing that matters.
"It'll guarantee the midterms," he told Republicans at his golf course outside Miami for the GOP retreat. "If you don't get it, big trouble."
But Trump's war in Iran is bringing affordability back to the forefront. After Iran began blowing up oil tankers and driving up gas prices, the president's war has now pitted the House GOP against the Senate GOP.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told Punch Bowl he’d discussed the housing bill with his House colleagues. And if they rip it apart, he warned, Congress’s chance to pass it will be done.
“We missed one opportunity. This is our second,” Kennedy explained. “But I will tell you, if we don’t pass it this time, it’s going to be very difficult.”
"As House Republicans close out their annual ideas conference on Wednesday, an election year disconnect is emerging," characterized PBS News.
But House Republicans complain that the Senate has left them out of the process of crafting the bill in the Senate, and they have little interest in the housing affordability bill.
"Whatever the reason, Trump’s absence from this domestic policy fight simply gives House Republicans more time to sharpen their knives. That, in turn, cranks up the political capital it will take to force the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act through the other chamber," Punch Bowl said.
In the background, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has made it clear the election restrictions bill isn't likely to go anywhere either. Trump went so far as to tell Thune to blow up the filibuster, which would require Democrats to hold the floor nonstop to prevent the bill from passing. Thune made it clear, however, that there aren't the votes to kill the filibuster either.
The Hill reported that the only hope left for Republicans is that Democrats will eventually grow tired of the debate and give up.
Trump's decision to ignore "affordability" and start a war with Iran may be the death of both bills. Punch Bowl called the housing bill the "rare example of legislation actually addressing cost-of-living issues that Congress could pass before the midterms." It's remarkably similar to the landmark immigration legislation that was nearly passed in 2024 until Trump told Republicans to oppose it because it would mean something important was addressed and accomplished under a Democratic president, removing one of his key talking points.
Until Trump puts his weight behind it, the one piece of legislation Republicans could pass to help Americans in the affordability crisis appears to be dead, said Punch Bowl.
“There’s overwhelming support in the Senate,” Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) told Punch Bowl. “We’re going to get this over the finish line. And if the politicians will center the people rather than their own petty and partisan differences, we’ll get this done.”