President Donald Trump said Friday he will not sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan housing bill that Congress passed last month — but the legislation is set to become law automatically at midnight unless he vetoes it.
Trump announced his refusal in a Truth Social post, framing it as a protest against Senate Republicans' failure to advance the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as 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 wrote. The White House, when asked whether Trump would veto the housing bill, referred reporters to the Truth Social post, according to CNBC.
The Constitution's 10-day rule means any bill left unsigned and unvetoed by the president automatically takes effect with the force of law. That clock began ticking on June 29, when Speaker Johnson formally transmitted the enrolled legislation to the White House. Johnson made clear that a veto was not on the table, telling USA Today that Trump would at minimum let the bill pass on its own — and expressing hope the president would ultimately claim credit by signing it, according to The Hill.
The SAVE America Act remains bottled up in the Senate, where Democrats have blocked it through the filibuster and Republican leaders, including Majority Leader John Thune, have conceded they cannot muster the votes either to pass the bill outright or to dismantle the procedural hurdle standing in its way, according to The New York Times.
The timing was notable: just the previous day, the National Association of Realtors had released data showing June's median existing-home sale price hit a record $440,600 — up 1.8% year over year — according to CNBC.
As the bill cleared Congress with broad bipartisan margins — 358-32 in the final House vote and 85-5 in the Senate — it drew support from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott and ranking member Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill and ranking member Representative Maxine Waters. Senator Warren called it the biggest housing bill in more than 30 years.
Drafted with input from both parties, the bill addresses housing supply through more than 40 separate measures — restricting large corporate landlords with 350 or more homes from acquiring additional single-family properties, easing certain environmental review requirements for new construction, establishing community grant programs, and updating manufactured home standards in ways housing experts estimate could cut per-unit costs by $5,000 to $10,000, according to NPR.
Democrats seized on Trump's refusal to sign the bill ahead of November's midterm elections. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted on X $TWTR that the episode exposed his opponents' true priorities — choosing voting restrictions over housing relief. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media: "His priorities couldn't be clearer: higher costs for families and more power for himself," according to The New York Times.