Congress and President Trump have spent the second term locked in a running argument that has produced two major legislative wins for the White House, a string of stalled bills, and several stinging defeats in the Supreme Court and on the Senate floor. The story of Congress versus Trump in the second term is less a clean pattern of confrontation or cooperation than a mix of both, shaped by the thinnest House majority since the Great Depression and a Senate where a handful of Republicans have been willing to break ranks.
What Congress Has Passed for Trump
Two big things have gotten through, and both moved on party lines through budget reconciliation.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act cleared the Senate 51–50 on July 1, 2025, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie, passed the House 218–214 on July 3, and was signed on July 4, 2025.1Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. 2025 Reconciliation Tracker It extended provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, added new deductions for tips and overtime, raised the SALT cap, and cut roughly $884 billion from Medicaid, $156 billion from SNAP, and $387 billion from student loan programs over a decade. The Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated the law would add $3.2 trillion to primary deficits over ten years.2Penn Wharton Budget Model. President Trump Signed Reconciliation Bill
The second was the Secure America Act, an immigration enforcement package that put roughly $70 billion behind ICE, Border Patrol, and border technology through fiscal year 2029. Republicans again used reconciliation to bypass a Democratic filibuster, and the House approved it 214–212 on June 9, 2026. Trump signed it the next day.3NPR. House Reconciliation Vote Immigration Enforcement
Outside those two reconciliation vehicles, the administration’s legislative record is much thinner.
Where the Supreme Court Has Overridden Him
The sharpest checks on Trump have come from the courts, and twice they have reasserted powers the Constitution assigns to Congress.
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.4SCOTUSblog. A Breakdown of the Courts Tariff Decision Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, joined on the core holding by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, and Jackson. The opinion called tariffs “a branch of the taxing power” reserved to Congress under Article I and found no mention of tariffs or duties in IEEPA’s text. Justices Thomas, Kavanaugh, and Alito dissented.5Supreme Court of the United States. Learning Resources Inc v Trump Opinion
The ruling scrambled Capitol Hill. Senator Bernie Moreno and Representative John Rose called for Congress to codify the existing tariff regime through reconciliation.6Courthouse News Service. Republicans Call for Legislative Fix After SCOTUS Nixes Trump Tariff Power Senate Democrats introduced the Tariff Refund Act of 2026 on February 26, seeking to force refunds of an estimated $175 billion in tariffs already collected.7U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Wyden, Markey, Shaheen and Senate Democrats Release Legislation Requiring Refunds of Trumps Illegal Tariffs Republican Senator Rand Paul supported the decision, saying “tariffs are taxes and the power to declare them belongs to the Congress.”
Four months later, on June 30, 2026, the Court struck down Executive Order 14160 in Trump v. Barbara, reaffirming that the Fourteenth Amendment grants automatic citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. Roberts again wrote for the majority, joined by Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, and Jackson, with Kavanaugh concurring. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissented, arguing for a domicile-based reading of the Citizenship Clause.8Ogletree Deakins. Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship Rejecting Executive Order
Where Congress Itself Has Pushed Back
Congress has delivered its own rebukes, though most have been symbolic or fought through the appropriations process rather than through direct legislation over a veto.
Both chambers passed a war powers resolution aimed at limiting Trump’s authority to strike Iran without congressional authorization. The Senate approved it 50–48 on June 23, 2026, with four Republicans joining Democrats: Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Rand Paul, and Lisa Murkowski. One Democrat, John Fetterman, voted no.9NPR. Senate Iran War Powers Resolution The resolution does not require a presidential signature and does not carry the force of law.10PBS NewsHour. In Rare Rebuke Senate Votes to Limit Trumps War Powers in Iran Trump called the four Republicans “Four Republican Losers” on Truth Social and said, “I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done!” The next day, the White House asked Congress for $87.6 billion in supplemental funding for the Iran conflict.11CNBC. Iran War Supplemental Trump Congress
The other significant standoff was over immigration enforcement funding. After two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis in January 2026 — an ICE officer killed Renee Good on January 7, and Border Patrol agents killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti on January 24 — Senate Democrats refused to advance a $1.2 trillion funding package unless DHS funding was pulled out and paired with accountability measures for ICE and Border Patrol, including mandatory body cameras and a ban on agents wearing masks.12CNBC. Minneapolis Shooting Government Shutdown13NPR. Department of Homeland Security Shutdown A partial shutdown hit on February 13, 2026, the second in four months; the first had lasted 43 days.14NBC News. Government Shut Weekend ICE Operations Carry On The deal that reopened the government funded most agencies through September 2026 but gave DHS only two weeks.15Federal News Network. GOP Leaders Labor for Support Ahead of Key Test Vote on Ending Partial Government Shutdown Republicans ultimately routed around the fight by putting the money in the Secure America reconciliation bill.
Where Trump’s Agenda Has Stalled
Several White House priorities have gone nowhere, and one dispute has produced an unusual constitutional wrinkle.
The SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, restrict mail-in ballots, and federalize significant parts of election administration, passed the House on February 11, 2026.16Brennan Center for Justice. New SAVE Act Bills Would Still Block Millions of Americans From Voting In the Senate it fell well short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster and could not even muster a simple majority; a Senate vote failed on June 4, 2026.17NPR. Trump Voting SAVE America Act Trump urged Republican leaders to kill the filibuster to push it through. They declined. Senator Mitch McConnell was among the Republicans opposed to the bill’s approach to election administration.18NPR. Examining Trumps Interest in the SAVE America Act
Trump then tied the SAVE fight to an unrelated bill. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan measure to lower housing costs, had passed 358–32 in the House and 85–5 in the Senate. Trump canceled a planned signing ceremony on June 24, 2026, and said he would not sign it until Congress passed the SAVE Act. He did not formally veto it, which left the housing bill in limbo despite its veto-proof majorities.19ABC News. Trump Refuses to Sign Bipartisan Housing Bill When Speaker Mike Johnson tried to attach SAVE to the National Defense Authorization Act to force it through, 14 Republican hardliners blocked the procedural vote out of concern the Senate would strip the voting provisions. Leadership canceled the rest of the week’s votes.20CBS News. House GOP Agenda Stalls SAVE America Act
Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche as Attorney General is another test. Trump formally nominated Blanche on June 9, 2026, after he had served as acting AG since Pam Bondi’s departure in April.21NPR. Trump Formally Nominates Todd Blanche to Serve as Attorney General The Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled hearings for July 15 and 16, 2026.22Washington Examiner. Todd Blanche Confirmation Hearing July Senate GOP Attorney General Senator John Cornyn raised concerns about Blanche’s prior role as Trump’s personal defense lawyer. Senator Thom Tillis called a proposed $1.8 billion DOJ “anti-weaponization” settlement fund “politically tone deaf” and a “payout pot for punks.” Blanche told a House panel the fund “will not go forward,” and Majority Leader John Thune said it “does not exist,” but Trump publicly called the fund a “great idea,” which has kept Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski skeptical.23The Hill. Anti-Weaponization Fund Blanche Attorney General Nominee To advance on a party-line committee vote, Blanche needs all 12 Republicans on Judiciary, and several were undecided going into the hearings.24Federal News Network. Blanche Set for July Confirmation Hearings for Attorney General as Republicans Weigh Support
Why the House Keeps Jamming
Speaker Johnson runs the smallest House majority since the Great Depression, with no more than two votes to spare on any party-line measure.25USA Today. Republicans Congress Gridlock Trump Agenda Mike Johnson That math has turned routine procedural votes into extended negotiations and has repeatedly produced revolts on the floor.
House Freedom Caucus conservatives blocked a clean FISA reauthorization despite direct pressure from Trump and White House adviser Stephen Miller. Leadership pulled the farm bill over pesticide and biofuel disputes and only brought it back after concessions. Florida Republicans forced the withdrawal of an endangered species bill over redistricting concerns.26CNN. Congress GOP Dysfunction Johnson Former House Republican leader Patrick McHenry attributed the chaos to the party having “spent all their political capital” on reconciliation, producing a “hangover effect.”27NPR. Party Infighting and Revolts Continue to Complicate House Speaker Mike Johnsons Job Representative Steve Womack described the majority as “chaos”; Representative Troy Nehls said, “We can’t really agree on much of anything.” Johnson himself has likened the job to being a “mental health counselor.”
Impeachment Efforts
Democrats have tried, and failed, to force impeachment votes on the House floor. Representative Al Green brought two privileged resolutions. The first, in December 2025, targeted Trump’s comments about Democratic veterans and was tabled after 23 Democrats voted with Republicans and 47 Democrats voted “present.” The second, in June 2026, concerned U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and was blocked with 128 Democrats voting with Republicans.28ABC News. Democrats Grapple Rising Clamor Trump Impeachment Ahead of Midterms Two additional impeachment resolutions have been introduced in the 119th Congress without advancing.29U.S. Congress. H.Res.537 Impeaching Donald J. Trump Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on House Judiciary, said in January 2026 that he was working on a “systematic way of thinking” about the administration’s actions, stopping short of committing to impeachment.
The Midterms in View
All of this is running into November 2026. Republicans hold 220 House seats, just two above the majority threshold. Democrats have roughly a four-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot. Trump’s approval sits near 44 percent against 52 percent disapproval in weighted averages, with weaker readings on inflation (38 percent) and trade (36 percent). If Democrats take either chamber, they plan a wave of oversight hearings targeting the administration.30Brookings Institution. What History Tells Us About the 2026 Midterm Elections Asked during the DHS shutdown about the path forward, Senate Majority Leader Thune said, “There’s always miracles, right?”15Federal News Network. GOP Leaders Labor for Support Ahead of Key Test Vote on Ending Partial Government Shutdown