06/25/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/25/2026 15:53
WATCH: Padilla: "This supposed SAVE America Act, is a hodgepodge of Trump, of vindictive vendettas, and he's not going to get his way"
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, joined MS NOW's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell to sound the alarm on President Trump's disregard of the affordability crisis and Republican efforts to disenfranchise voters through the anti-voter SAVE Act. The interview follows one of Trump's social media outbursts in which he cancelled the signing of the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Bill, a legislative package that would modernize housing policies to expand homeownership opportunities and help address the national affordable housing shortage.
Padilla discussed concerns over Trump's refusal to sign the bipartisan housing bill, Trump's desire to interfere with elections, and the lasting effects of Trump's priorities that continue to affect Americans in their everyday lives.
View the full interview here.
Key Excerpts:
On Trump's refusal to sign bipartisan housing bill:
"Here's all you need to know, as if we needed more proof that Donald Trump does not care about you: He does not care about working families."
"So, instead of signing this bill into law which would provide, among other things, additional resources and flexibility for local governments to invest in new housing construction, he's threatened to not sign the bill because he's still fixated on the SAVE Act, which is more than just a voter ID bill, it's a voter disenfranchisement bill."
"The bottom line is this: he doesn't want to help lower costs, not for housing, not for groceries, not for health care, not for energy."
On pushing back on the SAVE Act:
"We voted on the SAVE Act, different iterations of it over the last several months, and they keep coming up short."
"Because guess what? Even some Republicans care about vote-by-mail, even some Republicans know it is wrong to demand the personal private information of every voter on the rolls in states across the country.
"And by the way, this bill does more than just speak to elections. It wants to limit the rights of trans citizens in the United States of America. This SAVE America Act, supposed SAVE America Act, is a hodgepodge of Trump, of vindictive vendettas, and he's not going to get his way. We're going to keep fighting it tooth and nail."
On Trump's priorities:
"We know that for most Americans, the cost of healthcare is up, cost of gas is up, cost of your energy bills at home is up, cost of almost everything is up, and here we had a chance to do something to address the cost of housing, and Donald Trump, you know, 'Mr. Reflection Pool' himself says, 'No, I want my SAVE Act.'"
"He's like the reverse Midas touch. Everything he touches turns to you know what."
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