# NARRATIVE: Seven days of Washington in flames — Trump, Johnson, and American democracy grinding to a halt

> The week of June 22, 2026 in Washington was supposed to be a victory. The U.S. Congress had just accomplished something rare: passing a bipartisan housing bill by overwhelming majorities. The Senate voted 85 to 5. The House followed with 358 votes to 32. Flags, a podium, and the presidential seal had been installed in the Statuary Hall of the Capitol for the signing ceremony. T

- Author: Maxime Marquette
- Publisher: MadMax (https://mad-max.co)
- Section: Reportage
- Published: 2026-06-27
- Canonical URL: https://mad-max.co/en/article/recit-sept-jours-de-washington-en-feu-trump-johnson-et-la-democratie-americaine

## Introduction: A week that reveals everything

### Monday, June 22, 2026: the stage is set

The week of **June 22, 2026** in **Washington** was supposed to be a victory. The **U.S. Congress** had just accomplished something rare: passing a bipartisan housing bill by overwhelming majorities. The **Senate** voted **85 to 5**. The **House** followed with **358 votes to 32**. Flags, a podium, and the presidential seal had been installed in the **Statuary Hall** of the **Capitol** for the signing ceremony. The **21st Century ROAD to Housing Act** — the most important housing reform in decades, aimed at reducing property costs by limiting institutional investors and streamlining construction regulations — was about to be signed into law. The ceremony was scheduled for noon on Wednesday, **June 24**.

But the **U.S. Congress** had not counted on **Donald Trump**. And **Donald Trump**, on that **June 24, 2026**, had a different idea in mind.

### Wednesday, June 24: the Truth Social announcement

Less than two hours before the ceremony, a post on **Truth Social** by **Donald Trump** upended everything. **"The Housing signing ceremony is hereby CANCELLED until we pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT, a must-have, which I consider a National Emergency."** In a few lines, the president had torpedoed the only major bipartisan success of the legislative session. The chairs, the stage, and the podium in **Statuary Hall** remained empty. Senators and representatives from two parties, who had just worked together to accomplish something rare, found themselves publicly humiliated. **Trump** had transformed a collective victory into a political hostage.

The **SAVE America Act** — or Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — requires proof of citizenship for voter registration and a photo ID to vote. It passed the **House** along partisan lines in February. In the **Senate**, it does not have the **60 votes** needed to overcome the filibuster. **Trump** knows this. **Trump** demands the elimination of the filibuster anyway. And the **Senate** Republicans, starting with Majority Leader **John Thune**, keep repeating that they do not have the votes. That is not changing.

*There is something in this sequence that resembles governance through systematic destruction of collective successes. Trump did not just want the SAVE Act. He also wanted to destroy the bipartisan cooperation that produced the housing bill. The method's objective is not to govern — it is to reign in chaos.*

## The filibuster: the rule Trump wants to blow up

### 60 votes, a tradition, and a president who does not understand the word "impossible"

The **filibuster** is a **Senate** rule requiring **60 votes** out of 100 to end debate on most bills and allow a final vote. In practice, this means the minority can indefinitely block any legislation it finds unacceptable. It is a rule that favors compromise and bipartisanship — or creates paralysis, depending on your point of view. **Trump** wants to eliminate it to pass the **SAVE America Act** with a simple Republican majority. But to eliminate the filibuster, you need... a simple majority of the **Senate**. And that simple majority does not exist either.

**John Thune**, the Republican Senate Majority Leader, has been clear on multiple occasions: the votes to eliminate the filibuster are not there. Senator **Mike Rounds** said the same. Senator **John Cornyn** acknowledged that even if **Trump** has a lot of influence, the math does not change. During the week of **June 22**, faced with **Trump**'s repeated demands to eliminate the filibuster, Senate Republicans held their position: **"The filibuster is off the table. Nobody is even talking about doing that. All members know the score."**

### The Capitol confrontation: a dinner gone wrong

On **June 24**, after torpedoing the signing ceremony, **Trump** went to the **Capitol** to have lunch with Senate Republicans. The atmosphere was electric. What the media retained: the public confrontation between **Trump** and Senator **Bill Cassidy** of **Louisiana** — a Republican whose primary **Trump** had actively tried to defeat — over the war in **Iran** and presidential war powers. The **Senate** had just rejected a war powers resolution that would have restricted **Trump**'s ability to conduct operations in **Iran**. **Cassidy**, who had voted for the resolution, confronted the president at that lunch in what was described as a heated exchange.

Concrete result of the week: the housing bill was still in limbo. The **SAVE America Act** was still blocked. House Republicans had paralyzed legislative votes in protest against the Senate's refusal to pass the election law. Speaker **Johnson**, after a more than three-hour meeting at the **White House** on Thursday, **June 25**, claimed he and **Trump** were "on the exact same page" — without specifying when the housing bill would be sent to the president for signature.

*"On the exact same page." That formula from Johnson says something important: the Speaker of the House, third in the presidential line of succession, is reduced to interpreting Trump's moods for the rest of Congress. This is an inversion of the separation of powers.*

## The housing bill: hostage to an electoral standoff

### A bipartisan reform taken hostage

The **21st Century ROAD to Housing Act** is the most substantial housing reform in decades. It limits large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes beyond a threshold of **350 properties**. It streamlines federal environmental reviews to accelerate construction. It encourages local governments to reform their zoning laws. It aims to make the American housing market more accessible to individual buyers against private investment funds. This was, substantively, a bill that **Trump** himself had conceptually supported — before calling it "minor importance" and the work of **Elizabeth Warren** on the day he decided to torpedo its signing.

The popularity numbers of this bill are unambiguous: **85–5** in the **Senate**, **358–32** in the **House** — with more Democrats than Republicans among supporters in the **House**. These margins are veto-proof: if **Trump** vetoes it, both chambers theoretically have the votes to override. But veto override votes are politically unstable — members who voted for a bill often refuse to vote against the president in an override procedure. **Trump**'s political calculus is cynical but rational.

### The Constitution, the 10 days, and the pocket veto

Under the **U.S. Constitution**, the president has **10 days** (excluding Sundays) to sign or veto a bill after it is submitted by **Congress**. If he does nothing and **Congress** is in session, the bill automatically becomes law. But if he does nothing and **Congress** adjourns — which was set to occur from **July 3** for a **10-day recess** — the bill is nullified by what is called a **"pocket veto."** The week's timeline was therefore crucial: if Speaker **Johnson** did not submit the bill to the president before adjournment, the 10-day clock would not even begin.

By the evening of **June 25**, **Johnson** had not yet formally submitted the bill to the **White House**. This tactical decision — delaying submission to preserve flexibility — perfectly illustrated the dysfunctional mechanics of the week: even **Trump**'s congressional allies were maneuvering to manage presidential unpredictability rather than govern. The American press was debating whether a reform adopted by more than **85%** of elected representatives would survive the whims of a single man.

*I look at this sequence and wonder how to explain it to a European observer who still believes American democracy is a robust institutional system. The institutions are there. But their functioning depends on actors who accept the norms. When one of them does not, the institutions reveal their fragility.*

## The SAVE America Act: the 2024 election that will not end

### An electoral bill that divides deeply

The **SAVE America Act** is not a neutral electoral law. It requires proof of citizenship for federal voter registration and a photo ID to vote. Its supporters, including **Trump**, claim it is necessary to prevent widespread voter fraud. Opponents — essentially all Democrats, but also several legal experts — argue that there is no evidence of large-scale electoral fraud in the **United States**, and that the law's requirements would disenfranchise millions of legitimate voters who lack easy access to the required documents.

The bill passed the **House** in February **2026** along near-partisan lines, with only one Democrat voting for it. In the **Senate**, it is blocked by the filibuster. **Trump** had declared as early as March **2026** that the **SAVE America Act** "supersedes" all other legislation and that he would not sign anything else until it was passed. This explains why housing reform, judicial nominations, and other legislative priorities are being held hostage to a partisan electoral objective.

### Schumer, Warren, and the Democratic reaction

The irony of the situation was not lost on the opposition. Senate Minority Leader **Charles Schumer** declared that **Trump** was "covering himself in ridicule" by refusing to sign a bill that would make housing more affordable. Senator **Elizabeth Warren**, one of the housing bill's principal architects, was reportedly "furious." Democrats capitalized on **Trump**'s refusal to sign a popular bipartisan bill, using it as proof that he was stalling on his electoral promises to reduce costs for Americans.

**Schumer** also declared that if **Trump** vetoes the housing bill, the votes to override probably exist in both chambers. But he acknowledged the uncertainty: veto override votes are unpredictable because members often hesitate to openly oppose the president even on measures they voted for. The constitutional standoff is open, and its outcome will depend on the coming days.

*Schumer can congratulate himself politically on Trump's blunder. But behind the Democrats' tactical satisfaction, there are millions of Americans who need affordable housing and are watching partisan politics torpedo the only bipartisan reform of the year. This is a victory for nobody.*

## Speaker Johnson: balancing act between Trump and Congress

### A man in an impossible position

**Mike Johnson** is in a structurally impossible position. He is the **Speaker of the House of Representatives** — theoretically the third most powerful person in the **United States**. In practice, since **Trump**'s election, he plays the role of intermediary between an unpredictable president and a fractured Republican caucus. His room for maneuver is minimal: he cannot afford to alienate **Trump** without losing his speakership, and he cannot afford to alienate moderate Republicans without losing his majority.

The week of **June 22** illustrated this perfectly. On **June 25**, after more than three hours at the **White House** with **Trump**, **Johnson** emerged declaring they were "on the exact same page" — and claimed that the housing bill would be sent to the **White House** and that **Trump** would sign it "within the 10-day window." He did not specify when this submission would happen, leaving journalists and lawmakers in uncertainty. His strategy was to manage constitutional deadlines to force **Trump**'s hand without openly provoking him.

### Republican hard-liners: a veto on the legislative machine

A handful of conservative House Republicans blocked legislative votes after **Trump**'s decision to cancel the signing ceremony, as a protest against the Senate's refusal to pass the election law. This tactic paralyzed the **House** legislative agenda for several days, just before a **July 4th** recess and a long summer break. For these hard-liners, the means — institutional paralysis — are justified by the objective: forcing through an electoral law they consider a national priority.

This model of governance by obstruction has become the norm in the **U.S. Congress**. A minority of members can block the normal functioning of the legislative chamber to advance partisan objectives. The week of **June 22** is not an anomaly — it is the ordinary operation of an increasingly dysfunctional institution, where bipartisanship has become the exception rather than the rule, and where normal governance depends on the president's tolerance for cross-party cooperation.

*There is something deeply sad about the spectacle of Johnson emerging from a three-hour meeting with Trump to say they are "on the exact same page" without being able to say whether the housing bill will be signed tomorrow or never. This is survival politics, not governance.*

## The American 2026 budget: between record deficit and impossible promises

### The debt ceiling mechanics: recurrence and dysfunction

The American budget crisis of the week of **June 22, 2026** is part of a long series of confrontations over the debt ceiling and government funding that punctuate American politics decade after decade. The mechanics are always the same: a polarized **Congress** cannot agree on spending, constitutional deadlines approach, both parties negotiate under the pressure of a hard date, and a last-minute deal — often imperfect — is reached to avoid the worst. The spectacle is familiar. The dysfunction is real.

What distinguishes the June **2026** crisis is the scale of the underlying fiscal stakes. The federal deficit now exceeds **$2 trillion** annually. Public debt represents more than **120% of GDP**. Interest on the debt is absorbing a growing share of federal expenditures — in some projections, surpassing the defense budget. In this context, the debate about the housing bill and the filibuster is a skirmish on the margins of a fundamental fiscal problem nobody really wants to solve.

### Trump's economic policy: tax cuts and trade tariffs

The economic policy of the **Trump** administration in **2025–2026** combines two elements that feed each other toward a worsening deficit. On one side, **massive tax cuts** for corporations and wealthy individuals — the continuation and extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of **2017**. On the other, trade tariffs that, while generating short-term revenue, disrupt supply chains, fuel inflation, and reduce medium-term growth.

The combination of these two elements with rising military spending — to meet **NATO** demands and tensions with **China** — creates a long-term untenable fiscal equation. Economists from both parties privately acknowledge that the administration's budget projections do not add up arithmetically. But fiscal honesty carries an electoral cost that few politicians are willing to pay.

*What I observe in **2026** American budget policy is the triumph of the short term over any long-term consideration. Cut taxes, avoid politically costly cuts, fund electoral priorities — while shifting the bill onto future generations. This is not a specifically Trumpist pathology — it is a structural pathology of democracies that reward politicians who give everything now and punish those who demand sacrifice. But the current scale is alarming.*

## The filibuster and American democracy: reform or fossilization?

### The history of the filibuster: from deliberative instrument to weapon of obstruction

The Senate filibuster — the procedure allowing a minority of senators to block a vote by maintaining debate indefinitely, unless **60 votes** are obtained to end it — has a complex history in American democracy. It has been used for noble causes (resisting certain executive overreach) and for shameful ones (blocking civil rights legislation for decades in the **1950s** and **1960s**). Its use intensified from the **2000s** onward, transforming what was an exceptional procedure into a systematic tactic of obstruction.

**Trump**'s argument for eliminating it is tactically simple: with a Republican Senate majority, removing the filibuster would allow rapid passage of the legislative agenda without compromise with Democrats. This is the efficiency argument against checks and balances. The problem: today Republicans have the majority, tomorrow Democrats could. And a **Senate** without a filibuster would be an instrument of absolute majority power — a prospect that even some Republicans find unsettling.

### Alternatives to the filibuster: reform rather than abolition

The filibuster debate should go beyond the binary abolition/maintenance question to explore reforms that would reduce its abusive use without entirely eliminating minority protections. Proposals like the "talking filibuster" — requiring senators to actually speak for hours to maintain the obstruction rather than simply declaring their intention — would make the procedure more costly and reduce purely tactical obstruction.

Other reforms examine sectoral exemptions: the filibuster would not apply to judicial nominations (already eliminated for some), budget bills (already the case through reconciliation), or national security matters. These incremental reforms are more politically feasible and preserve the **Senate**'s original vocation as a chamber of deliberation and minority protection, while reducing its use as an instrument of governmental paralysis.

*What strikes me in the American filibuster debate is that it reflects a fundamental question about democracy: should it protect the majority or minorities? The answer is not binary. A healthy democracy must do both. When the filibuster becomes an instrument of systematic blockage of all legislation, it ceases to be a minority protection and becomes an anti-democratic weapon. Reform is necessary — but it must be done carefully, not by presidential whim.*

## The U.S. Congress in 2026: portrait of an institution in crisis

### The fracture within the Republican Party

The week of **June 22, 2026** perfectly illustrates the internal fracture within the **Republican Party** that makes governing difficult despite a nominal majority. There are the most radical **MAGA**, who follow **Trump** unconditionally and refuse any compromise with Democrats or even with moderate Republicans. There are the business Republicans, from suburbs and competitive states, who need tangible results for their constituents and worry about an image of the party as too radical. And there are fiscal libertarians who want real budget cuts that neither **Trump** nor the **MAGA** wing is ready to accept.

This internal tripartition makes any legislative agreement impossible beyond a lowest common denominator that disappoints each of the three groups. Speaker **Johnson** navigates this impossible triangle, trying to maintain an appearance of cohesion while managing contradictory demands. His political survival depends on his ability to deliver legislative results without alienating any of the factions — a balance that the housing bill and the filibuster threat have clearly put to the test.

### The Democratic Party in opposition: between resistance and reconstitution

Facing the Republican fracture, the **Democratic Party** is going through its own identity crisis. Pushed into opposition after **2024**, Democrats must reconstruct a coherent message and an electoral base capable of recapturing the majority. The **Senate** — where they maintained a blocking minority sufficient to use the filibuster — is their main lever of legislative resistance. But pure resistance is an opposition strategy, not a governing vision.

The **2026** midterm elections — whose primaries are already underway — will be the first real test of Democratic reconstruction. Progressive candidates, centrist candidates, economically focused candidates — each faction is trying to impose its vision of tomorrow's party. This internal debate is healthy but time-consuming. Meanwhile, **America** is governed by a dysfunctional Republican coalition that produces limited legislative results but controls judicial nominations, foreign policy, and regulation.

*What I take from this week in **Congress** is that the institution itself is in structural crisis. It is no longer capable of producing the legislative compromises a great democracy needs to govern effectively. This is not a crisis of personalities — it is a crisis of the system, fueled by polarization, gerrymandering, niche media, and campaign financing that rewards the extremes. Institutional reforms are just as necessary as changes in majority.*

*The week of **Congress** I just analyzed reveals an institution that is still functioning — imperfectly, painfully — but functioning. Separation of powers, checks and balances, parliamentary procedure: all of this is holding. The **U.S. Constitution** is holding. And as long as it holds, authoritarian excesses have limits. That is the fragile hope I allow myself to hold onto.*

## Conclusion: A week that is a symptom of structural crisis

### Seven days that summarize four years

The week of **June 22 to 26, 2026** in **Washington** is a microcosm of American governance in the **Trump 2.0** era. A bipartisan victory transformed into a hostage. A president using citizens' fundamental needs — affordable housing — as political currency. A **Congress** paralyzed by a minority of hard-liners. A **Speaker** spending his days deciphering and managing presidential moods. A Democratic opposition drawing political benefits from the situation while unable to change the trajectory.

This is not a passing governmental crisis — it is a mode of operation. American institutions are holding, but they are revealing their structural limits when an actor chooses not to respect the unwritten norms that make them function. The housing bill will probably be signed or become law automatically. But the way this week unfolded — the chaos, the public humiliation of bipartisan lawmakers, the deliberate paralysis — is a powerful signal about the state of American democracy in **2026**.

### What the West should take from this

For **America**'s allies in **Europe** and **Asia**, this week is a reminder that American institutional reliability is subject to growing internal pressures. A partner whose legislative process can be paralyzed by the moods of a single man is a partner with limited predictability. This is not a reason for disengagement — **America** remains the indispensable power of the **West**. But it is one more reason for **Europe** to strengthen its own institutional, defense, and economic capabilities. American uncertainty is a fact with which allies must contend.

**By Maxime Marquette, columnist**

## Columnist's transparency note

### Editorial stance

I am not a journalist but a **columnist and analyst**. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies.

I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. **I claim analytical clarity**, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events.

### Method and sources

This text keeps the basic distinction between **verified facts and interpretive analysis**. The rule never changes: a factual claim is published only when a verifiable source supports it, and the sources this article actually used are listed under **Sources**, never here.

**Primary source families** used by the publication, when the story has them: official statements from governments and international institutions, public statements by political leaders, reports from intergovernmental organisations, dispatches from recognised international news agencies.

**Secondary source families**: specialised publications, internationally recognised news media, analyses from established research institutions, reports from industry organisations.

When an article cites statistical, economic or geopolitical data, it comes from the institutions that produce it (intergovernmental organisations, central banks, national statistics offices), and the exact institution is named under **Sources**.

### Nature of the analysis

The analyses, interpretations and perspectives in the analytical sections of this article are a **critical, contextual synthesis** based on the information available, the trends observed and the expert comments cited in the sources consulted.

My role is to interpret these facts, to set them in the context of today's geopolitical and economic dynamics, and to give them a coherent meaning within the larger story of the changes shaping our time. These analyses reflect expertise built through continuous observation of international affairs and an understanding of the strategic mechanisms that drive global actors.

This article describes a documented state of affairs on its publication date, not a prediction: later developments may shift its outlook. No update is promised in advance; when an article is corrected or completed, the change is dated in the text.

## Sources

### Primary sources

- [Hoodline — Trump Cancels Housing Signing, Pushes To End Filibuster — June 24, 2026](https://hoodline.com/2026/06/trump-blows-up-d-c-housing-win-to-force-filibuster-fight/)

- [New York Times — What Are the Paths Forward for the Housing Bill After Trump Refused to Sign It? — June 25, 2026](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/us/politics/trump-housing-bill-scenarios.html)

- [ABC News — Johnson says Congress will send housing bill to Trump — June 26, 2026](https://abcnews.com/Politics/johnson-congress-send-housing-bill-trump/story?id=134222903)

### Secondary sources

- [NPR — Trump puts major housing bill on hold — June 24, 2026](https://www.npr.org/2026/06/24/nx-s1-5869533/trump-puts-major-housing-bill-on-hold)

- [Fox News — Trump scores major win as Congress passes housing crackdown — June 23, 2026](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-scores-major-win-congress-passes-housing-crackdown-wall-street-investors)

- [Washington Times — Trump takes housing bill hostage — June 24, 2026](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/24/trump-takes-housing-bill-hostage-demands-congress-pass-election/)

- [The Guardian — Republican senator in shouting match with Trump on Iran — June 24, 2026](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/24/trump-housing-affordability-bill)

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Source: Maxime Marquette, MadMax. When citing, name the author and link https://mad-max.co/en/article/recit-sept-jours-de-washington-en-feu-trump-johnson-et-la-democratie-americaine