Deadlines can be rough. Two years seems like a long time at the outset, but in the blink of an eye, you find yourself wondering what you have to show for the months that flew by. That’s the situation lawmakers on Capitol Hill are in: The fast-approaching midterm elections have prompted a bipartisan scramble to get something passed to show off to the voters this fall.

Republican lawmakers are right to worry, given their few legislative accomplishments and the harsh treatment the president’s party typically receives in midterms. You would think these factors would prompt the White House to hustle in support of bills that might raise the odds of holding onto the House and Senate next year. But President Donald Trump is pursuing a very different vision of what victory will look like this fall.

The GOP’s partisan push to fund Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol is sucking up most of the air in the Capitol. But despite the tensions surrounding the reconciliation bill, Politico reported that politicians in both parties hope to pass major bills before fleeing Washington to hit the campaign trail:

Before next week’s Memorial Day recess, GOP lawmakers will try to pass bipartisan measures on affordable housing and college athletics regulation.

Legislation with Republican and Democratic backers regulating cryptocurrencies, overhauling the energy permitting process, governing AI use, boosting U.S. manufacturing and reauthorizing a landmark public lands package are also in the works for the coming months.

You wouldn’t know any of that based on Trump’s public comments. He instead spent Tuesday morning yet again defending the White House ballroom he’s building where the East Wing once stood. His legislative aides pressed some wavering GOP senators on including $1 billion in “security funding” for the ballroom project in the immigration bill.

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An even more telling example of the president’s priorities was his treatment of a bill meant to help close the country’s massive housing shortage. This weekend, Trump attempted to throw a landmine into the talks over the bill.

Hayes Brown

Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MS NOW. He focuses on policymaking at the federal level, including Congress and the White House.