A federal judge banned the Trump administration from implementing an executive order related to elections, part of which required proof of citizenship to vote.
U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston made permanent a previous injunction that had halted most of the order's efforts.
In the ruling she rejected the administration's claim that the lawsuit seeking to block the order was premature because the rules had not been implemented yet. The order required people to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, prevented mail-in ballots from being counted if they arrived after Election Day and punished states that failed to comply.
She said that the Constitution allows states and Congress to regulate election, and that the administration violated the separation of powers with the order. "(The Constitution) does not grant the President any specific powers over elections," reads a passage of her ruling, according to The Associated Press.
The ruling came shortly after Trump said that he won't sign a bipartisan housing bill until his SAVE America Act, which requires stricter guidelines to vote, is approved.
"Today's Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency," Trump said in a social media post about an hour before the bill was set to be signed.
The White House has promoted the SAVE America Act as an election-integrity measure, saying it would require valid identification before registration, proof of citizenship, and sharply restrict mail-in ballots except for limited cases such as illness, disability, military service, or travel.
Voter ID has long been popular across party lines, but the SAVE America Act goes further than a simple ID requirement. The Bipartisan Policy Center warned that mail registration could be effectively weakened because some applicants would have to present documents in person.
The housing bill, in turn, was popular among both Republicans and Democrats. It includes the boosting the building of homes and cracking down on large investors' ability to buy single-family homes.
The bill passed with a 358-32 vote a day after making it through the Senate by an 85-5 vote. Called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, it includes funding and pilot programs to build new homes, while also easing some regulations and allowing local governments to accelerate reviews for projects.
