President Donald Trump declined to sign a sweeping bipartisan housing bill, allowing it to become law early Saturday, and using the occasion to press Senate Republicans on their failure to advance the SAVE America Act.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is the broadest federal effort in decades to address America’s housing affordability crisis. It cuts federal regulations, shortens environmental reviews, makes it easier to build new homes, and limits large institutional investors’ purchases of single-family homes.
The bill became law after Trump declined to sign or veto it within the 10-day window the Constitution provides, a mechanism known as unsigned enactment, distinct from a pocket veto, which applies only when Congress has adjourned. Congress approved the measure last month by an 85-5 vote in the Senate and a 358-32 vote in the House, margins well above the two-thirds supermajority required to override a veto.
Trump announced Friday that he would not put his signature on the legislation because the Senate had not passed the SAVE America Act.
“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.”
He continued:
“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!”
The SAVE America Act would require voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot and proof of citizenship when registering, basic election-integrity measures that are already standard practice in most developed democracies.
Trump also urged Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster so they could pass the election bill and other Republican priorities with a simple majority.
Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, but Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said there is not enough support within the Republican conference to eliminate the filibuster. The chamber’s rules generally require 60 votes to advance legislation.
Trump had abruptly canceled a planned June 24 signing ceremony for the housing bill and demanded that Congress first pass the election measure.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., later said he had encouraged Trump to sign the housing legislation with the “fattest black marker” he could find. Johnson also acknowledged that the measure would take effect regardless of whether Trump signed it.
“I hope he does sign it. If he doesn’t, it’s still law. We’ll still celebrate it.”
Johnson said he understood that Trump was trying to emphasize the importance of the SAVE America Act.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., who helped craft the housing legislation, celebrated its enactment Saturday.
“The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will help more Americans plant roots, build stability, and pass opportunity to the next generation.”
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., called its passage “a good example of what we can accomplish when we work together.”
Democrats seized on the unsigned bill as an affordability talking point. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on X that Trump called the housing crisis “a big yawn” and “refused to sign the most significant bipartisan housing bill in decades.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump “just isn’t interested in lowering costs for American families.” Both critiques conveniently sidestep the fact that the bill’s core mechanism, cutting federal regulations and streamlining environmental reviews, is precisely the kind of deregulatory approach Democrats have historically opposed. The bill passed despite them, not because of them.
The legislation arrives as home prices remain near record highs. The median price of an existing home sold in June reached $440,600, up 1.8 percent from one year earlier and the highest figure recorded in data dating to 1999.
White House economists have estimated that the United States faces a shortage of approximately 10 million homes. The new law does not address every factor driving costs higher, including construction labor shortages, climbing insurance premiums, and stagnant wages. Supporters expect the regulatory changes to make new construction meaningfully faster and less expensive over time.
Trump’s refusal to sign did not prevent the housing package from taking effect. The real story now is whether Senate Republicans will hold the line on the filibuster, or whether Trump’s pressure campaign forces them to choose between procedural tradition and delivering on election integrity before the midterms.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY