Trump withholds housing bill signature in voting-law fight
The bipartisan housing measure is expected to become law even if Trump does not sign it, unless he vetoes it before the deadline.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
President Donald Trump said he will not sign a bipartisan housing affordability bill as he pressures the Senate over a separate voting measure backed by his administration. The move puts a widely supported housing package in the middle of a fight over election rules, though the bill is still expected to become law if Trump does not veto it.
Trump said Friday on Truth Social that he would not support signing the housing legislation, Al Jazeera reported. The bill is unrelated to the voting proposal and is aimed at easing housing construction and limiting some purchases of single-family homes by institutional investors.
Under the presidential bill process described by Al Jazeera, a president has 10 days after receiving legislation to sign it or veto it. If the president takes neither step, the bill becomes law at midnight. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Trump was not expected to issue a last-minute veto, according to Al Jazeera.
Broad support for housing bill
The legislation, called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed Congress by wide margins. Al Jazeera reported that the Senate approved it 85-5 and the House passed it 358-2, making it a rare bipartisan measure in a sharply divided Congress.
The bill would speed environmental reviews for construction projects, expedite development and restrict how many single-family homes institutional investors may buy, according to Al Jazeera. It would also create incentive programs for communities to build more housing, encourage modular home development and make it easier to convert underused land into residential housing.
The Bipartisan Policy Center said in a poll that 70 percent of Americans support barring institutional investors that own more than 350 homes from buying additional single-family houses. The group also found that 79 percent of Americans describe housing costs as either an extremely important or very important issue.
Housing costs remain elevated. Al Jazeera reported that the median US home price reached a record $440,600 in June, while the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 6.49 percent.
Voting bill at center of dispute
Trump canceled the original June 24 signing ceremony for the housing bill to press Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, Al Jazeera reported. Trump had called the housing bill a “yawn” on June 29.
The voting measure would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and would create a national voter database using state records, according to Al Jazeera. It would also place new limits on mail-in voting.
An MIT survey cited by Al Jazeera found that about one-quarter of Republicans voted by mail in the 2024 presidential election. A version of the SAVE America Act passed the House but did not clear the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold.
Election administration is handled by states under current US election law, Al Jazeera reported. The White House did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.