SouthernWorldwide.com – A significant bipartisan housing bill has officially become law without President Donald Trump’s signature. The legislation, passed with substantial support from both parties, officially took effect at midnight on Saturday.
This unusual move by President Trump marks the culmination of a weeks-long standoff. He had deliberately withheld his signature, leveraging the housing bill as a bargaining chip to pressure Congress into passing his proposed SAVE America Act.
“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 declared on Truth Social.
The SAVE America Act, championed by Trump, proposes stringent voting regulations. These include requiring proof of citizenship for federal elections and implementing mandatory voter ID requirements. However, this election reform measure has faced significant hurdles in the Senate, failing to garner the necessary 60 votes to advance.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has yet to pass a version of the bill that incorporates Trump’s additional proposals. These include a crackdown on mail-in voting and a ban on men participating in women’s sports.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES DERAIL GOP AGENDA IN SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWDOWN
Under the U.S. Constitution, the president has a 10-day window, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto legislation once it’s transmitted to the White House. The House formally sent the housing bill to the White House in late June. By not signing or vetoing it, Trump allowed the bill to become law automatically.
Although Trump avoided a veto, he was vocal in his criticism of certain aspects of the housing bill. He argued that it should not have been a legislative priority given the importance of his own agenda.
“It’s so unimportant … compared to the SAVE America Act,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in late June. “I think the SAVE America Act is exactly what it says. It’s saving America from crooked elections.”
Trump further characterized the housing bill as a mere “yawn” when contrasted with the perceived urgency of the SAVE America Act, suggesting that “just about everything is a big yawn” in comparison.
Overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate. While both chambers had already exceeded this threshold in passing the housing bill, it remained uncertain if enough Republicans would defy Trump if he had chosen to veto the legislation.
Trump also appeared to express reservations about a specific provision within the housing bill. This provision restricts Wall Street investors from purchasing single-family homes, a policy he had previously advocated for. He had initially proposed this ban during his State of the Union address, arguing it would benefit individual homebuyers.
“I don’t want to hurt people that own houses, too,” Trump later remarked to reporters, seemingly referencing the investor ban. “These people, for the first time in their lives, they have valuable houses. They’ve become rich. I don’t want to hurt them either. What you want to do is what’s good for everyone, get the interest rates down.”
The newly enacted law includes numerous provisions aimed at increasing the housing supply. These measures involve streamlining federal environmental reviews, easing regulations on factory-built homes, and encouraging local governments to amend zoning laws to permit greater housing density, among approximately 60 other provisions.
President Trump’s apparent shift in stance on the housing bill created difficulties for Republicans. They had promoted the legislation as a key achievement in addressing housing affordability, a pressing concern for voters amid high living costs.
“It’s irresponsible to postpone signing the Housing bill due to the SAVE Act,” stated Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., a retiring lawmaker who was unseated by a Trump-backed challenger. “We need to start delivering relief to people for the high cost of housing ASAP!!”
WARREN TELLS TRUMP TO ‘SIGN THE DAMN BILL’ AS BIPARTISAN HOUSING PACKAGE REMAINS STALLED IN WASHINGTON
In a significant development, Trump abruptly canceled a planned signing ceremony for the legislation at the U.S. Capitol in June. This event was intended to include GOP leaders, and the stage had already been set. At least one senior Republican reportedly arrived unaware that the president had called off the ceremony shortly before its scheduled start.
The president then asserted that he would not sign the housing legislation until Congress passed the SAVE America Act. This stance was taken despite assurances from Senate GOP leaders that the necessary votes to advance Trump’s bill simply did not exist.
Trump has also voiced his dissatisfaction with the Republican-controlled Senate. He expressed frustration over their reluctance to weaken the legislative filibuster, a procedural rule that requires 60 votes to move most legislation forward in the upper chamber.
“GET SMART REPUBLICANS, IF YOU DON’T, YOU WON’T BE IN OFFICE FOR LONG!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.
Prior to Trump’s opposition, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had lauded the housing bill. She described it as “one of the most significant pieces of housing affordability legislation in American history” and noted that it incorporated several policies “long championed” by Trump.
Similarly, Trump political operative James Blair highlighted the inclusion of the president’s proposed ban on Wall Street investors in the housing legislation, referring to it as a “signature commitment.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has indicated that Republicans will continue to promote the landmark housing bill in the lead-up to the November elections.
“We’ll still celebrate it, but he’s trying to make a point, and I think he’s making it very effectively,” the speaker recently commented to reporters, referring to Trump. “And the fact that you all ask me every three steps down the hallway illustrates that he has achieved the desired objective, and that is to make SAVE America the number one thing, because if we don’t get that right, everybody’s concerned about what happens next.”
