Trump cancels housing bill signing over voting legislation

President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a planned signing ceremony for a major bipartisan housing bill Wednesday, saying he would not move ahead until Congress approves his stalled election overhaul legislation.

“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The move put on hold the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, a broad measure intended to lower rents and home prices by increasing housing supply, cutting federal regulations, streamlining environmental reviews, speeding construction and limiting the ability of large investors to buy single-family homes. The bill passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday in a 358-32 vote after clearing the Senate on Monday 85-5, according to Al Jazeera. Such large bipartisan margins have been rare in a closely divided Congress.

Trump called the housing measure of “minor importance” on Wednesday, according to The Guardian, and instead pressed lawmakers to focus on the SAVE America Act, his top legislative priority. The voting bill would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration and strict photo identification to vote in federal elections. The Guardian reported that it would also significantly curtail mail-in voting.

The House approved the voting measure in February largely along party lines, but it has no clear path through the Senate, where Democrats can use the 60-vote filibuster threshold to block it. Trump was expected to attend a lunch with Senate Republicans on Wednesday to push the measure.

Some Republicans viewed the cancellation as largely symbolic, Al Jazeera reported, because the housing bill can become law without the president’s signature if he does not act within 10 days. Lawmakers also believe they have enough votes to override a veto.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer sharply criticized Trump’s decision. “It’s utterly amazing. Trump is running away from one of the very few accomplishments could actually help the American people,” Schumer said.

“The Save Act will not pass, Donald Trump. Get on board with this housing bill,” Schumer added, predicting Congress would override a veto if Trump rejected the measure.

The housing bill arrives as affordability concerns are expected to be central in the November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress for the final two years of Trump’s term. Al Jazeera reported that the high cost of living, with inflation rising significantly during Trump’s second term, ranks as a top concern in public opinion polls.

Housing industry groups estimate the United States faces a shortage of millions of affordable homes. High mortgage rates, rising home prices and supply chain problems over the past several years have contributed to consumer difficulties, Al Jazeera reported. A survey released Tuesday found that, for the first time since 2023, a majority of American consumers said they would prefer to buy a home rather than rent or move in with family members.

Trump’s canceled signing also came amid broader tensions with Senate Republicans. The Guardian reported that Trump had been expected to use Wednesday’s lunch to address a deadlock over renewal of a key foreign surveillance law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expired earlier this month. Democrats had refused to support reauthorization in protest of Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte, described by The Guardian as an inexperienced loyalist, as acting director of national intelligence.

A possible path forward emerged when Trump announced New York attorney Jay Clayton as his nominee for the intelligence post, but The Guardian reported that Trump derailed Clayton’s confirmation last week by saying he would not allow him to take the job until the Senate passed the SAVE America Act.