President Donald Trump declared Friday he would not sign a major housing bill into law over the Senate’s inaction on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.
Trump canceled the signing of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on June 24 until the Senate passed the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and government-issued identification at the voting booth. He maintained he would not sign the housing bill, which is set to become law at midnight unless Trump vetoed it.
“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, which is polling at 97% with the Republican Party, and very high with the non-politician Dumocrats,” Trump wrote. “The Act states, quite simply, that to Vote a person must show PHOTO VOTER I.D., PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP, AND THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE CROOKED, CORRUPT, & DESTABILIZING MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPTIONS for Military, Disabled, Illness, and Travel!).” (RELATED: House Finally Takes Stab At Fixing America’s Housing Crisis. Bit Will It Actually Do Anything?)
Trump repeatedly pressured Senate Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, urging them to eliminate the filibuster or add it to other pieces of legislation. He threatened in a June 17 Truth Social post to oppose reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) unless the SAVE Act was attached to it.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said they lack the necessary votes to pass the SAVE Act. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted against attaching it to the immigration enforcement reconciliation package that Trump signed into law on June 10.
The Senate passed the housing bill on June 22, which subsequently passed in the House also. The package aimed to tackle housing affordability by cutting red tape, increasing the housing supply, expanding loans to build housing and curbing Wall Street’s ownership of single-family homes. The legislation would cut red tape by streamlining environmental reviews, modernizing zoning, reducing regulatory barriers to accelerate housing construction and raising loan limits for multifamily programs.
Some lawmakers including Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Chip Roy of Texas opposed the bill, citing concerns about federal overreach and restrictions for home and rental buyers. Lee and Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz argued the bill gave the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) authority to develop zoning and land-use frameworks, while Roy argued it did not add any restrictions on foreigners from purchasing homes.
Trump called the bill a “big yawn” and argued it was “of minor importance” compared to the SAVE America Act. In May, he urged the House to pass the Senate’s version of the bill because it would “ensure that homes are for people, not Corporations.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of prioritizing “more power for himself” over affordable housing for families.
“Millions of Americans are being crushed by housing costs. Donald Trump called their crisis “a big yawn”—then refused to sign the most significant bipartisan housing bill in decades. His priorities couldn’t be clearer: higher costs for families and more power for himself,” Schumer said on X.
House Speaker Mike Johnson sent the legislation to Trump’s desk on June 29 to be signed.
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