Trump runs into Republicans who won't bend

According to Axios, President Trump is clashing with Senate Republicans over the SAVE Act, which would require voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote. Trump is demanding passage of the bill, but he's running into surprising defiance from within his own party. At a Senate GOP lunch, Trump got into a shouting match with Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, bringing up Cassidy's recent primary loss to a Trump-backed candidate. But Cassidy pushed back: 'I make no apologies for standing up to the president,' he told reporters. 'I wasn't going to be bullied.' Trump's using leverage — he canceled signing a bipartisan housing bill until the SAVE Act passes — but Senate Majority Leader John Thune says Trump doesn't have the votes. Other Republicans like Murkowski, McConnell, and Tillis are also resisting, some because they're leaving the Senate or already lost primaries to Trump allies. For Republicans in a midterm year, it's an unwelcome distraction from messaging on affordability.

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