Washington was a hotbed of activity this July. While the grand 250th celebrations covered the city in fireworks, Congress also put on a show of its own. A housing bill with overwhelming bipartisan support snuck in some nasty surprises, the president and GOP leaders engaged in a few firefights, and two international wars split Congress into its own battling camps. Finally, a controversial titan of Washington politics suddenly passed, leaving behind a polarizing legacy.
Housing of Horrors: The Housing for 21st Century Act became law on July 11, 2026 without Donald Trump’s signature. It received wide bipartisan support, with only a handful of Republican dissenters. The GOP hailed it as a victory, particularly in light of tough upcoming midterms.
This bill was introduced in early 2026 by Tim Scott (R-SC) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Although Donald Trump thought the bill was lousy, the White House released a statement supporting the effort in March, stating: “By streamlining regulations, modernizing finance options, and promoting innovative construction methods, this bill will lower housing costs for families, seniors, and veterans across the country.” This clash underlines the problem between Trump’s instincts and staff who do not follow the president’s lead.
While the bill does allow deregulation that could have a positive ripple effect in the housing affordability crisis, a number of reforms included in the legislation will increase Section 8 housing allowances and even make it easier for blue states and cities to provide housing for illegals.
The inevitable and well-documented outcome of these kinds of experiments are the increase of crime and instability. Ann Coulter wrote a thorough rebuke of the bill, noting that the expansion of section 8 will “destroy neighborhoods, while unjustly enriching well-heeled landlords of decrepit apartment buildings.”
As Coulter notes, this push to fill middle class neighborhoods with low-income people is based on the assumption that the only problem with these unstable communities are the areas they live in: “the theory is that if only criminals lived in nice middle-class areas, they’d get jobs and become productive members of society!” The evidence does not support this assumption. “Section 8’s sole achievement has been to create one-building crime waves in formerly safe areas.”
Russian Roulette: With everything else going on, it’s easy to forget that the war between Ukraine and Russia is still raging. However, a bill that would impose harsher sanctions on Moscow and on countries that continue to purchase oil and other goods from Russia recently passed a procedural vote in the Senate. Introduced in April of 2025 by Senator Graham (RIP), who was an adamant voice for Ukraine, the bill will now be moved to debate.
However, some members of congress have rebuked the bill. Several Democrats have expressed concern that this legislation is merely a Trojan Horse that will allow Trump to continue imposing tariffs. Senator Warnock (D-GA) told The Hill “this bill in its current form gives the president a wide margin in the continuing advancement of his tariff regime, and I don’t have much evidence that he’s going to do what we need him to do.”
A lone voice among the GOP, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), in characteristic stubbornness, voted against the bill. He voiced his disapproval shortly after the bill was introduced in 2025, arguing that the sanctions will not stop Putin but could cause huge damage to our allies and America’s own economic stability. He reiterated those concerns with the revised bill that the Senate voted on this week: “Moscow may in fact welcome the United States inflicting unnecessary economic self-harm and further degrading its relations with many of the world’s other great powers like India, whose rise could serve U.S. interests in our competition with China.”
The bill will not be decided upon before August recess, but it will face a challenging road to the president’s desk as members hash out concerns about tariffs and the effectiveness of harsher sanctions.
All’s Fair: In the continuing saga of the Iran war, the senate narrowly blocked a procedural vote on a measure that would block Trump’s war powers and demand that he end the conflict with Iran. The numbers were 50-49, with the usual suspects of Paul, Collins, and Murkowski breaking ranks from fellow Republicans. John Fetterman (D-PA) played Benedict Arnold to the Democrats and voted against restraining the president.
The GOP’s support for the administration’s efforts continue to hold, despite the fact that Americans are unimpressed. On July 15th, the House introduced a $95 billion defense spending bill, which will help fund the administration’s efforts in the Middle East (along with funding for voting security and American farms). It was adopted on July 22nd, 216 to 212. It will make its way to the Senate, where it will face a much trickier path to passing. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said very clearly that the votes simply aren’t there. Expect more budget haggling to come.
The Hill versus the (White) House: President Trump and Republican members are mired in a few conflicts of their own. First, the president demanded that the Senate forego the traditional August recess in order to pass the SAVE America act, which would tighten up election procedures and require thorough proof of citizenship. While Thune signaled openness to rescinding recess privileges, the route toward passing the bill remains unclear. The GOP does hold the majority with 53, but due to Senate rules, the SAVE Act would need at least 60 votes to circumvent the filibuster.
Another row broke out when Republican Senators Cornyn and Tillis threatened to block the nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general until they received written confirmation from Blanche that Donald Trump’s defunct anti-weaponization fund–which would be used in support of those who claimed to be victims of lawfare or weaponization–will not be resurrected. In response to this GOP rebellion, Trump has signaled that he may just withhold Blache’s nomination until after Cornyn and Tillis leave in November. It’s a big gamble, of course, because the Senate may not be so friendly to the administration after the midterms.
Rest in Peace, Sen. Lindsey Graham: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) passed away on July 11th after a very sudden illness. Regardless of one’s stance on his politics, Graham was a formidable figure in Washington. He was elected as a member of the House in 1994, which he remained in until he joined the Senate in 2003. Known for his hawkish convictions, he made a reputation for himself as a vocal supporter of Israel, Ukraine, and American foreign interventions. Although he and Trump clashed, they ultimately had a mutually respectful relationship. The president offered a eulogy for the departed Senator saying: “He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart until that heart itself just gave out.”
Applying Phyllis’s Philosophy Today
The passage of the Housing for the 21st Century act brought the issue of welfare and state-support programs to the forefront. The Republican party essentially betrayed middle class Americans by expanding programs that wreak havoc on communities. This has been an issue since the expansion of welfare last century. Phyllis saw the danger of this kind of government meddling very well: “The liberal welfare system has perpetrated such horrendous damage on our society. It has broken up millions of families, prevented more millions of families from forming, produced seven million illegitimate children, created a pathetic underclass that will never achieve what we like to call the American Dream, virtually destroyed our great cities, and spawned the social problems that flow from illegitimacy such as drugs, delinquency, and dropouts.”
