Trump cancels bipartisan housing bill signing, insists Senate pass SAVE Act first
President Trump abruptly scrapped a planned signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing affordability bill, demanding senators first pass the SAVE America Act, which he calls a national emergency.
The cancelled ceremony
On Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump announced he would not sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act during a scheduled noon ceremony at the Capitol. The decision came roughly 90 minutes before the event was to take place. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the signing was "hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency."
The cancellation blindsided Republican lawmakers, including Rep. French Hill, who had praised the bipartisan effort minutes before Trump's post.
- House passes the final version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
- Trump posts on Truth Social cancelling the signing ceremony and demanding SAVE Act passage.
- Scheduled noon signing ceremony at the Capitol does not take place.
The housing legislation
The housing bill was designed to lower costs by reducing federal regulations, streamlining environmental reviews, speeding up construction, and limiting corporate landlords' ability to buy single-family homes. It passed both chambers with broad bipartisan support, and its backers had cast it as one of the most significant housing supply measures in decades.
On social media, Trump derided it as "of minor importance" and called it "The Elizabeth 'Pocahontas' Warren centric housing bill."
Trump's election law demand
The SAVE America Act, which Trump is pushing the Senate to approve, would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and significantly curtail mail-in voting. The House passed the bill earlier this year, but Senate Republican leaders have repeatedly told Trump the votes are not there in their chamber.
Trump has been publicly angling for the legislation for months and had previously threatened to withhold his signature on other bills until lawmakers moved on it.
Political fallout and midterms
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.
The episode injects uncertainty into a housing affordability push that both parties wanted to tout ahead of November's midterm elections. Affordability concerns are expected to be a defining issue for voters deciding control of Congress during the final two years of Trump's term.
Let's show the American people what legislating looks like. Let's show the American people how you work together and do something on a bicameral basis, and we did that, and we did that in conjunction with President Trump and his priorities.
Trump was scheduled to attend a Senate Republican Steering Committee lunch after the ceremony, but the cancellation left the event in limbo.
