WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will allow a major bipartisan housing bill to become law without putting his signature on it, saying he is doing so as a protest against the Senate’s inability to pass strict voter ID legislation he has been championing.
“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump wrote on social media.
The president had a 10-day window ending Friday to either sign the legislation, veto it, or allow it to take effect without his approval. By choosing the third option, Trump has undermined his own administration’s stated position that addressing inflation is a top priority.
Trump’s move deepens a rift with members of his own party during a midterm election year and cuts short congressional Republicans’ efforts to tackle one of voters’ top concerns — the rising cost of living. His announcement came more than a week after he abruptly canceled a planned signing ceremony, declaring he would use the housing bill as a bargaining chip to push through his preferred voting legislation.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is designed to bring down housing costs and encourage more home construction. It represents the most significant federal push in decades to tackle the nation’s housing affordability crisis, which has been worsened by state and local regulations that have made building new homes difficult in many areas with strong job markets. White House economists estimated earlier this year that the country is short roughly 10 million homes, and this legislation could help narrow that gap.
Despite the bill’s scope, Trump dismissed it as “a yawn” and “so unimportant” when compared to legislation that would require all voters to provide proof of citizenship.
Trump caught Republican lawmakers off guard on June 24, when he announced — just before a scheduled signing event at the Capitol — that he would withhold his approval until Congress first passed the voting bill.
That measure, known as the SAVE America Act, currently lacks enough Republican support to clear the Senate.
The housing bill had passed the Senate by an 85-5 margin and cleared the House with a 358-32 vote, reflecting broad support across party lines.
Among its key provisions, the housing legislation would cut federal red tape, streamline environmental reviews, speed up the home-building process, and restrict corporations from purchasing single-family homes.
The bill does not, however, address every factor contributing to the housing shortage — including a lack of construction workers, rising insurance premiums, and wages that have not kept pace with the cost of renting or buying a home.
Still, the measure has earned backing from the real estate industry and housing advocacy groups alike.
The broader U.S. housing market has been a major source of affordability strain in recent years, with soaring prices locking many would-be buyers out of the market. The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that the median home sale price climbed 1.8% in June compared to a year ago, reaching $440,600 — an all-time high in data stretching back to 1999.
