President Donald Trump said Friday that he wouldn’t sign a bipartisan housing-affordability bill, using the measure to pressure Senate Republicans to advance election legislation he has made a priority ahead of the November midterm elections.
The housing bill, called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, is expected to become law automatically on Saturday unless Trump vetoes it.
“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 Truth Social.
Under the Constitution, a bill becomes law if the president doesn’t return it to Congress within 10 days of receiving it, excluding Sundays, as long as Congress remains in session. Trump’s decision not to sign the measure therefore wouldn’t prevent it from taking effect.
The housing legislation is intended to ease affordability pressures by encouraging the construction of more homes and reducing barriers to new supply. House Speaker Mike Johnson sent the measure to the White House late last month, starting the constitutional review period.
Trump has urged Republican lawmakers to make the SAVE America Act their top legislative priority before the midterms, when Democrats are seeking to win control of at least one chamber of Congress.
The election bill is designed to prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections and includes other changes to election administration. The states according to the Save America Act must remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters.
Trump also renewed his call for Senate Republicans to eliminate the legislative filibuster, which generally requires 60 votes to advance major legislation. He has argued that Democrats would remove the procedural hurdle if they regain control of the chamber.
“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!” Trump wrote.
The president has previously suggested that he could withhold his signature from other legislation until Congress passes the election bill. Last month, he abruptly canceled a scheduled White House ceremony for the housing measure, citing the Senate’s failure to act on the SAVE America Act.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized Trump’s position.
“Republicans would rather make it harder to vote than easier to afford a home,” Jeffries wrote on X. “When people show you who they are, believe them.”
