The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act officially became law at 12 a.m. on Saturday after President Donald Trump chose not to sign the legislation, citing the Senate’s failure to act on the SAVE America Act, an elections bill.
The bipartisan legislation is regarded as the most far-reaching housing reform in decades and is designed to expand housing supply, reduce costs, and restrict institutional investors from acquiring certain single-family homes.
President Donald Trump had originally planned to sign the housing legislation during a Capitol Hill ceremony last month after it secured overwhelming bipartisan approval in both the House and Senate. However, he unexpectedly cancelled the event just hours before it was due to begin and warned that he would withhold his signature until Congress passed the SAVE America Act, a bill that seeks to introduce stricter voting and voter registration requirements.
On Friday morning, Trump again reaffirmed that he would not sign the housing measure.
“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,” the president posted on Truth Social.
Under the U.S. Constitution, legislation approved by both chambers of Congress automatically becomes law if the president neither signs nor vetoes it within 10 days, excluding Sundays.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and the Senate’s leading advocate for the housing bill, strongly condemned President Trump’s decision to withhold his signature.
“At the stroke of midnight, a huge bipartisan bill to lower housing costs became law without the President’s signature. Why did President Trump sit on the landmark housing bill for more than 2 weeks? Maybe because there was nothing in it for him personally — no gold-encrusted ballroom, no Qatari jet, no $2 billion crypto deal. Nothing in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing except ways to make housing more affordable,” she said in a statement. “Donald Trump couldn’t pick up the pen because he just isn’t interested in lowering costs for American families.”
President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign the legislation placed his Republican allies in Congress in a difficult position, denying them the chance to highlight their efforts to tackle housing affordability, an issue that continues to rank among Americans’ biggest concerns.
Despite months of lobbying from Trump, Senate Republican leaders have repeatedly maintained that the SAVE America Act lacks the support needed to secure passage.
The housing legislation was approved after months of negotiations and stood out as a rare example of bipartisan cooperation ahead of the midterm elections. However, President Donald Trump dismissed the measure as “a yawn,” insisting that attention should instead remain on his campaign to prohibit mail-in voting, require proof of citizenship for voter registration, and mandate photo identification for casting ballots.
Although President Donald Trump declined to sign the housing legislation, he also chose not to veto it, allowing the measure to take effect automatically under constitutional provisions. House Speaker Mike Johnson formally transmitted the bill to the White House on June 29, triggering the 10-day period after which it became law without the president’s signature.
When asked that day about the housing legislation, President Donald Trump said he had not decided what action to take, describing the measure as insignificant compared with the SAVE America Act.
“I think it’s so unimportant,” Trump told reporters.
Responding a day later, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested the president had likely not reviewed the full contents of the bill.
“The president has a lot going on and I think it’s safe to say he’s not read through every line of that piece of legislation,” Johnson said.
The Louisiana Republican said the bill contains “a lot to it and a lot of great things,” adding that he and President Donald Trump had “spoken about it quite a bit.”
“What he was saying is in comparison to ensuring election integrity, which is now represented by the SAVE America Act, nothing is as important,” Johnson said. “That’s not to say that there are not also incredibly important issues, and the cost of living and affordability is among them. It’s top of mind.”
Johnson expressed confidence that the legislation would eventually become law, saying he had urged President Donald Trump to sign it using “the fattest black marker you have.” He also told the president that the impact of the bill “is going to be very, very good for the American people.”
“So I hope he does sign it. If he doesn’t, it’s still law; we’ll still celebrate it,” Johnson said. “But he’s trying to make a point and I think he’s making it very effectively.”
The new law contains more than 45 provisions, many designed to boost the construction of affordable housing by cutting regulatory obstacles and simplifying environmental review processes. It also establishes a pilot programme to help local governments convert vacant commercial properties into affordable homes, expands access to federal funding for factory-built housing, and removes the requirement that homes must be constructed on a steel chassis used for transportation.
The legislation further introduces an innovation fund for communities increasing housing supply, expands housing support for veterans, and places restrictions on institutional investors buying certain single-family homes.
