A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump shocked Washington yesterday when he blew up plans to sign the widely supported legislation to lower housing costs across America.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The president said he won't support the measure until the Senate passes his sweeping elections bill that, so far, Senate leaders have said just does not have the votes to pass. That's just the latest example of his frustration with those who won't follow his lead. Not only is the president showing his frustration with the Senate, but also U.S. allies around the world.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I just want their loyalty. We don't need their money. We don't need anything. We have the most powerful military in the world by far. But I just want loyalty. You know, we're so loyal to them.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Franco Ordoñez has been following this. Franco, it feels like the president was celebrating Festivus at the Capitol with the airing of grievances. What can you tell us?
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Yeah. I mean, first, he really abruptly canceled a popular bipartisan achievement in Washington that both Republicans and Democrats wanted - really a rarity these days. It was, you know, a bill that focuses on one of the most important challenges Americans are facing right now, and that's affordability. But Trump was just not having it, saying that his pet issue, this election bill, had to be first. I mean, it really was kind of like a "Serenity Now" moment for some of...
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ: ...These senators. You know, Trump later went into a closed-door meeting with some of those senators and expressed frustration with those who rebuked him on the Iran war, actually prompting them to reverse course later in the day and vote against a similar war powers resolution that they had approved earlier in the day. And then finally, A, in a meeting with Mark Rutte, NATO general secretary, Trump went off on European leaders who he felt did not support him enough in the war against Iran. As we heard, he said he doesn't want their money. All he wants is their loyalty.
MARTÍNEZ: So on that elections bill, John Thune, the Senate majority leader, has explained that the votes are just not there to overcome a Democratic filibuster. Does President Trump not understand how the Senate works here?
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ: You know, it's not clear if he doesn't understand or if he just doesn't care about the norms and procedures of the Senate. I mean, Trump is more focused on having Republicans loyal to him than having a majority who can pass his legislation. You know, as you pointed out earlier, this speaks to much bigger issues about expanding his executive and political power and the loyalty he expects from those he works with.
You know, that of course includes the Senate, who he ripped into earlier in the day over Iran and, of course, withheld support from the housing bill that could have helped the party in the fall elections. But it also extends to foreign leaders, which we also saw yesterday. After Trump criticized European leaders, Rutte, the NATO chief, was clearly trying to maintain ties between Trump and the rest of Europe - I mean, just showering him with praise and only delicately pushing back when Trump criticized those allies.
MARTÍNEZ: There must be political implications, though, especially with the housing vote.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, it speaks to the divide in the Republican Party just five months from the midterms. Republicans have been clamoring for Trump to turn from Iran and focus on domestic issues, to focus on the economy. And then here you have them delivering to his desk something that addresses one of the things polls show Americans are most worried about - the cost of living. It would probably help him in the polls. It would help the party. And he doesn't sign it. I mean, House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to meet with Trump today to go over some of the challenge Trump faces with Capitol Hill Republicans. But it just gives Democrats another example that they can point to and argue that Trump is focused more on election fights and not on kitchen-table concerns.
MARTÍNEZ: That is White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thanks a lot, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ: Thanks, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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