Washington DC - The White House was forced to walk back comments made by President Donald Trump threatening to block all legislation until his restrictive voting reform bill is passed.

When it was pointed out that Republicans are currently trying to lift a partial government shutdown by negotiating a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, a White House spokesperson insisted: "The President was referring to other bills, not DHS funding."

The statement cited by USA Today added: "If the Democrats do the right thing and pass funding for DHS, the president will, of course, fund the agency."

On Sunday, Trump had threatened to withhold his signature from any legislation until his Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE America Act) is passed by the Senate, with the Midterms approaching.

While it had passed through the Republican-held House of Representatives in February, Trump's voting bill mandating new and harsh restrictions on voting is unlikely to survive in the Senate, as it needs a supermajority of 60 votes.

"It supersedes everything else," Trump raged in a Truth Social post on Sunday. "MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. I, as president, will not sign other bills until this is passed AND NOT THE WATERED-DOWN VERSION."

He also threatened to completely shut down the government over the act, telling NBC News last week that it was a "core belief" of his.