Trump Holds Bipartisan Housing Bill Hostage Over Voter ID Demand
Trump canceled the signing ceremony for the overwhelmingly bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, demanding Congress first pass the SAVE Act voter ID bill. Speaker Johnson has sent the bill to the White House, giving Trump until July 10 to act before it becomes law automatically.
A rare bipartisan win stuck in the Oval Office
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act sailed through Congress with margins that almost never happen in today's Washington: 85-5 in the Senate and 358-32 in the Houseapnews. Months of negotiations produced a sweeping package to ease zoning rules, boost manufactured-home construction, restrict large corporate investors from buying single-family homes, and expand rental assistance. The White House itself praised it as "one of the most significant pieces of housing affordability legislation in American history."apnews Then Trump canceled the signing ceremony.
The voter-ID ultimatum
On June 24, Trump posted on Truth Social that the planned signing was "hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT."apnews The SAVE Act — the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. It passed the House earlier this year but has stalled in the Senate, where it lacks the 60 votes needed to clear a filibusterapnews. Trump has repeatedly tried to attach the measure to unrelated legislation, and demanded that Senate Republicans change the rules to force it through, so far without success.
Speaker Mike Johnson formally delivered the housing bill to the White House on Monday, starting a constitutional 10-day clock that expires July 10msn. If Trump neither signs nor vetoes the bill within that window — and Congress remains in session — the legislation automatically becomes law without his signatureapnews. "I certainly want him to take the biggest, boldest marker that he has and do that big Trump signature proudly," Johnson said, adding he was "confident" Trump would ultimately signapnews.
The cost of delay
Housing affordability has ranked among voters' top economic concerns for years. U.S. home prices are up 54% since 2020, and the median existing single-family sales price was nearly five times the median household income last yearapnews. Monthly rents, while declining for nearly three years, were still 17% above pre-pandemic levels in Mayapnews. Economists say even a prompt signing would take months or years to affect supply meaningfully — every week of delay pushes that timeline further.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the bill "a great piece of legislation" and said he hoped Trump would "find a way to sign it."apnews Democrats are less measured: Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly said Trump's refusal shows "he's not prioritizing the American people."apnews With the veto-override math available to Congress and the July 10 deadline approaching, the standoff has become a test of whether Trump's demand for the SAVE Act can outlast the political cost of blocking housing reliefmsn.