Trump cancels plan to sign major housing bill as he fights with Congress over the SAVE Act

Trump cancels plan to sign major housing bill as he fights with Congress over the SAVE Act

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his plans to sign a major, bipartisan housing bill Wednesday, saying he will not do so until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a sweeping elections bill that has become a focal point of his second term.

"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," he posted on his Truth Social account.

It was not immediately clear whether he still plans to sign the housing bill or veto it. Trump has repeatedly pressed Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which would overhaul elections in all 50 states and add new proof of citizenship and voter ID requirements.

The housing bill aims to lower costs, in part by building more homes and restricting large investors from buying up single-family homes. But Trump undercut the bill just hours before he canceled the planned signing, writing in another Truth Social post that it was "of minor importance" before pivoting back to the SAVE America Act.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended the president's decision to hold up the housing bill as leverage for the SAVE America Act. "He has a window of time before he has to sign a bill, and he's going to use a little bit more of that window of time, and we're going to go through this together," the speaker said, adding that it is his "estimation" that Trump will sign it within the 10-day window the Constitution sets for the president to sign bills before they automatically become law.

Other House Republicans were dumbfounded by Trump's decision, but spoke candidly on the condition of anonymity. "What a s--- show. ... Crazy crazy crazy," one House Republican said in a text to NBC News. "A once in a generation housing bill falls victim to the nuts."

At a meeting in the Oval Office with Republican lawmakers in recent weeks ostensibly to discuss housing affordability legislation, Trump "talked about his building stuff for all but about 15 minutes," said a person familiar with the meeting. "He then said, I don't care about housing, but if you want me to help, I will," the person added.

The housing bill was negotiated across the House and Senate by committee leaders in both parties: Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Reps. French Hill, R-Ark., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif. But Trump focused on Warren in his Truth Social post, calling it a "Warren centric housing bill."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Trump was "making such a fool of himself" by refusing to sign a bill that would make housing more affordable. But, he added, "It looks like even if Trump decides to veto it, there are probably enough votes in both houses to override that veto."