Senators head for the exits without meeting Trump’s demands for voting bill

Senators abruptly left the Capitol on Saturday morning, abandoning a prolonged battle over President Donald Trump's demands to pass a strict voting bill before the summer recess. Despite concluding many crucial legislative priorities overnight, the President's SAVE America Act did not survive the session. Instead, Republican senators who had stymied the chamber's progress approached Trump later in the day for alternative arrangements.

They proposed revisiting elements of the voting bill within a larger GOP budget package set to fund the Iran war and bolster the Pentagon's coffers come September. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who chairs the GOP budget committee, explained that this was the president's directive. The abrupt retreat highlights Trump's ability to exert considerable influence over the legislative branch, shaping its agenda and disrupting the typical functioning of Congress.