A major housing bill will go into effect at midnight on Saturday without Donald Trump’s signature, after the president said he would refuse to sign the legislation because Congress has not approved new restrictions on voting nationwide.
The measure, known as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, is the biggest change to federal policy for buyers, renters and homebuilders in decades, and Congress approved it with large margins last month after lengthy negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.
But Trump has tied the bill to the Save America Act, which would impose a host of new restrictions on voters and state election officials nationwide ahead of November’s midterm elections, in which Republicans will be defending their majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives. A version of the Save America Act passed the House in February, but it is opposed by Senate Democrats and lacks the votes in that chamber to overcome the filibuster.
Last month, Trump canceled a signing ceremony for the housing bill, denying his Republican allies an opportunity to publicly highlight their efforts to address housing affordability, which surveys indicate is a top concern among voters.
The president later called the measure “a big yawn” and “so unimportant” compared with the Save America Act. On 29 June, the House speaker, Mike Johnson, sent the housing bill to his desk, triggering a 10-day countdown after which it will become law without his signature.
In a Friday-morning post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “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.”
The president gave no indication he would veto the housing bill, and the White House declined further comment.
Democrats pilloried Trump for not signing the measure, with the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, writing on X: “Republicans would rather make it harder to vote than easier to afford a home.”
The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said: “His priorities couldn’t be clearer: higher costs for families and more power for himself.”
Trump’s focus on the Save America Act has compounded concerns about how his administration is preparing for the midterms in November. On Thursday, the president fired the last three commissioners on an independent federal body that assists election administration nationwide.
