Trump outlines priorities he says will secure GOP midterm wins

President Donald Trump laid out five key elements that he believes will tilt the upcoming midterm elections in favor of the Republican Party – if Republicans can force them through Congress.

“No transgender mutilation surgery for our children,” Trump said at the Republican Members’ Issues Conference. “Voter ID, citizenship [verification]vote by mail, we don’t want men playing women’s sports. »

“This is Trump at his best. This is Trump at his best. This is the number one priority, and it should be, for the House,” Trump said.

Trump’s exhortations to Republican lawmakers come as the Republican Party is waging a tough campaign to maintain a majority majority in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He framed his legislative priorities as a way for Republicans to capitalize on popular demands within the Republican base, which would increase their chances of preserving a Republican governing trio.

President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One before departing Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, March 1, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

House Republicans push election overhaul with voter ID, mail-in ballot changes before midterms

Currently, Republicans hold only four more seats than Democrats in the House of Representatives.

The GOP holds six more than Democrats in the Senate.

To keep the numbers in their favor, Republicans will have to beat historical trends. In the vast majority of past cases, parties that gained the White House in presidential elections faced retaliation in the midterms. Notably, the last time a majority party won seats in both houses of Congress in a midterm was during the Bush administration in 2002, following the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, left, and President Donald Trump shake hands during an Invest America roundtable discussion in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, District of Columbia, June 9, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Republicans, Trump face roadblock in Senate over voter ID bill

Trump said he believed Republicans would have a chance to turn the tide in November if they focused on his list.

“This will guarantee the midterm elections,” Trump said of his legislative priorities.

Republicans have already launched strikes against two of them through the SAVE America Act, legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and vote. This bill was approved by the House last month for the second time in the 119th Congress.

His future is uncertain in the Senate, where Republicans would need help from seven Democrats to surpass the 60-vote threshold and overcome a filibuster. Democrats, for their part, believe the legislation would disenfranchise voters who cannot easily provide documented proof of citizenship through a passport, REAL ID or birth certificate.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S.D. promised a vote on the package despite long odds.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks with a guest during an “Only Citizens Vote Bus Tour” rally in Upper Senate Park to urge Congress to pass the Safeguarding America’s Voters Eligibility (SAVE) Act, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Several lawmakers have introduced bills on transgender issues, although none of them gained approval from either chamber.

“I have never been more convinced that if we keep these promises and deliver on this popular agenda, the American people will overwhelmingly stand with us, just as they did in 2024,” Trump said.