President Donald Trump announced a last-minute cancellation of the signing of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Wednesday, issuing an ultimatum to get the SAVE Act passed.
“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. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
House lawmakers passed the Housing Act by a 358–32 vote Tuesday, reflecting widespread agreement on the need to help Americans facing housing affordability challenges. The bill seeks to expand the supply of homes and will lower costs while also giving individual buyers a leg up by banning large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes.
Earlier Wednesday morning, Trump called the act an “Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren centric housing bill,” writing that it is “of minor importance compared to lower interest rates, and even FISA, pales in comparison to passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.”
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Trump still attended a previously planned GOP Senate lunch at the Capitol where he was set to sign the bill.
While walking into the lunch, Trump was asked by a member of the press if the “election legislation” was more important than housing.
“Every election is important. We’re doing very well. They want a lot of communists to come in. I’m saying it a little bit differently, but the people that they’re pushing are communists,” the president responded.
“This country is not going to have communists,” he continued, referencing the trio of socialist candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani winning their primary races Tuesday.
The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act includes Trump’s long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification as midterms loom ahead.
House Speaker Mike Johnson held a press conference following the cancellation announcement, sharing he agreed with Trump’s decision and hopes to advance a similar election-integrity proposal through the budget reconciliation process.
“I spoke to the president for 20 minutes before I went in and gave that rousing speech to the House Republicans this morning. He and I’ve talked about this a lot. He has expressed his priority and preference for the Save America Act,” Johnson said at the news conference. “We share that. We passed it three times in the House. The latest version was passed a few months ago, and it has proof of citizenship to register to vote and proof of showing a photo ID when you show up to vote.”
“Basic issues that 90% of Americans agree: 70% of Democrats think you ought to have a photo ID to vote and citizenship to vote in an American election is already in the law,” Johnson added. “But we have to enforce it because you’ve got a few blue states that don’t do that.”
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The scrapped bill signing sparked backlash from Democratic senators, openly criticizing the move.
“Huge bipartisan majorities in Congress passed a bill to lower housing costs. But at the 11th hour, Donald Trump is refusing to sign it into law. His policies have made your costs go up — and he doesn’t care,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote on X.
“The bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act would lower costs for millions and open the door for families across the country to afford their first home. And the President is refusing to sign it. It couldn’t be more clear how little he cares about everyday Americans,” said New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
“‘Cancelled.’ Donald Trump just cancelled signing a bill that’s strongly supported by Republicans and Democrats to help Americans afford a home. Rent, home ownership, affording a place to live, all of it is a big challenge for millions of Americans. But again, Donald Trump doesn’t care,” Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly wrote on X.
Trump and administration officials have sounded the alarm on the importance of passing the SAVE America Act, which has faced obstacles and pushback.
“That is what Americans, both Dumocrats, Republicans, and everyone else, care about. Get the bad Republicans to approve it or, better yet, Terminate the Filibuster and approve it, AND EVERYTHING ELSE REPUBLICANS HAVE EVER DREAMED OF,” Trump added on Truth Social. “The Dumocrats will do it in hour one, 100%. Republicans will feel very stupid if they don’t do it first. I’ll be watching with tears in my eyes!!!”
The housing package comes after months of House-Senate negotiations over restrictions on private equity investors and a temporary ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), an unrelated proposal championed by GOP privacy advocates.
The bill would loosen regulations surrounding factory-built homes and ease federal environmental reviews for housing. It also encourages local governments to update zoning policies to support more home construction and address housing shortages.
Many Americans have struggled when it comes to buying a home, with the median nationwide price tag topping $400,000, according to Realtor.com.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Pack contributed to this report.