Donald Trump refuses to sign housing affordability bill approved by Congress and sent to White House — here's why

President Donald Trump on Friday said he would withhold his signature from a bipartisan housing measure after lawmakers refused to advance a separate voter ID bill that he has championed.

The housing legislation, known as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, cleared both the House and the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support and is scheduled to become law on Saturday unless it is vetoed. However, a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump will allow the measure to take effect without signing it, according to Bloomberg.

“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 said on social media.

Trump unexpectedly scrapped a planned signing ceremony for the housing bill in June, opting not to sign the legislation as part of an effort to increase pressure on Senate Republicans to amend the chamber's rules and advance a separate voter ID proposal.

Although Trump had not indicated whether he would approve the bill, House Republicans forwarded it to the White House on June 29, triggering a 10-day review period, except for Sundays, during which he could either sign or veto the measure. If he took no action, the legislation would automatically become law on Saturday.

By declining to hold the signing ceremony, Trump and lawmakers from both parties missed an opportunity to spotlight bipartisan legislation intended to ease Americans' cost-of-living pressures. The economy and affordability continue to dominate voter concerns ahead of the November midterm elections, where Republicans face a difficult battle to hold on to their congressional majorities.

Trump has faced difficulties persuading voters that his administration is making progress in tackling the rising costs of housing, utilities, healthcare and groceries, which continue to strain household budgets. Public concerns over the economy have been further intensified by the Iran conflict, which drove up oil and fuel prices.

While Trump described the housing legislation as "fine", he has made it clear that the voter ID bill remains his primary focus. Meanwhile, Senate Republican leaders have said they do not have sufficient backing to amend the chamber's rules or secure passage of the voter ID measure.

Housing bill

The housing legislation contains several provisions aimed at improving affordability, including restricting large institutional investors from expanding their holdings of single-family homes, simplifying regulations for factory-built housing and encouraging local governments to ease construction barriers to boost housing supply.t

However, industry experts say the bill is unlikely to have an immediate impact, as increasing the housing stock is a gradual process. Housing prices surged after the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained elevated despite mortgage rates more than doubling in recent years.

Among the bill's most significant and debated provisions is a restriction preventing institutional investors that already own more than 350 single-family homes from purchasing additional properties. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, said this provision was key to securing the White House's backing for the legislation.

House lawmakers, however, removed a contentious provision that would have required large institutional investors to sell rental-built homes within seven years. The move came after housing experts and advocacy groups warned that the requirement could undermine one of the few sources of new housing supply and potentially prevent the construction of up to 100,000 new homes annually.