Trump cancels signing of bipartisan housing bill, demanding SAVE Act
U.S. President Donald Trump makes remarks before signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2026.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
President Donald Trump canceled Wednesday via Truth Social The landmark bipartisan housing bill, heralded as a victory by leaders in both parties, was scheduled to be signed on Capitol Hill.
“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signings are canceled until we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider a National Emergency. Thank you for your interest in this matter!” Trump made the post on Wednesday, a little more than an hour before he was due to head to the Capitol to sign the bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) celebrated passage of the housing package, which cleared both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support; this was an unusual achievement in the sharply divided Congress.
The measure aims to increase housing supply, make homes more affordable and limit the amount of single-family homes that private capital can buy. Two congressional Republican leaders announced that Trump will sign the bill at Statuary Hall on Wednesday at 10:00 ET.
But Trump downplayed the bill in a Truth Social post Wednesday morning, then revoked his signature entirely and said he wouldn’t sign it until Congress passed the controversial election bill known as the SAVE America Act.
The SAVE America Act aims to reduce noncitizen voting in U.S. elections, which are rare and already illegal in federal contests, and to impose voter ID laws across the country. The House of Representatives passed the SAVE America Act in February, and the measure is widely popular with Republicans. But without Democratic support, the GOP falls short of the 60 votes needed to pass the legislation because of the Senate filibuster rule.
Trump has leaned on Republicans to remove the filibuster or add the legislation to another, larger bill. He was to meet with Senate Republicans at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, and the housing bill signing was scheduled for before that lunch.
Trump, in particular, is pushing for Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., as opposed to Thune and GOP leaders, as is customary. He was invited to meet with GOP senators by . MS NOW reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the plans, that Trump is still expected to attend the Senate luncheon.
The president has 10 days to sign or veto a bill; That leaves little time for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act before it runs out, which is widely opposed by Democrats and voting rights advocates.
The only possible way to get the Save America Act through Congress is to use budget reconciliation, a congressional process that allows the Senate to bypass the filibuster, Johnson told reporters at the House GOP press conference on Wednesday. It can only be used for spending and budget measures, allowing controversial legislation to be passed along party lines in the narrowly divided legislature.
But there are serious questions about whether an election bill like the Save America Act would qualify for reconciliation under Senate rules. And the reconciliation process can be long and arduous.
“Like most sensible Americans, he is focused on the SAVE America Act,” Johnson said. “I think the only way to achieve this… you have to put it in a compromise bill.
Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., who chairs the House Financial Services Committee and is leading the housing bill in the House, told CNBC on Wednesday that Trump “picked the day and now he’s chosen to change the day. So we’ll let him do that and see what he decides to do.”
—Emily Wilkins contributed to this story.
