The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is officially becoming law, but it will not carry the signature of President Donald Trump.
On Friday—the final day of a 10-day deadline to either sign, veto, or let the measure take effect—Trump announced via social media that he would let the bipartisan package pass without his formal approval. He used the moment to slam lawmakers for stalled progress on a separate voting 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,” Trump posted.
The housing bill cleared both chambers with massive veto-proof majorities, passing 85-5 in the Senate and 358-32 in the House. It represents the broadest federal effort in decades to tackle America’s housing affordability crisis, aiming to streamline environmental reviews, cut federal housing rules, accelerate construction times, and restrict corporations from purchasing single-family homes. White House economists previously estimated a national shortage of 10 million homes, a gap this legislation intends to chip away at.
Despite the legislative momentum, Trump previously abruptly canceled a Capitol signing ceremony on June 24, choosing instead to use the housing bill as leverage to push for the SAVE America Act, which requires proof of citizenship for all voters. He dismissed the housing package online, calling it “a yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to the voting legislation, which currently lacks the necessary Republican support to clear the Senate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had publicly encouraged the president to sign the bill, recalling that he told Trump to get the “fattest black marker you have, and sign your name really big on that.”
Following Trump’s decision to bypass the signing, Johnson noted the mechanical reality of the bill’s passage while defending the president’s underlying message.
“I hope he does sign it,” Johnson previously told reporters. “If he doesn’t, it’s still law. We’ll still celebrate it.” Johnson added that he understood Trump was trying to emphasize the election bill as a top priority. “And I think he’s making it very effectively,” Johnson said.
The decision drew sharp pushback from congressional Democrats, who seized on the lack of a signature to question the administration’s commitment to lowering everyday living costs.
“His priorities couldn’t be clearer: higher cost for families and more power for himself,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer stated on X.
The legislative rollout comes amid record-setting pressure on the American real estate market. On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors reported that the median sales price for a home climbed 1.8% in June compared to last year, hitting an all-time high of $440,600 since data tracking began in 1999.
While the new law has drawn broad backing from housing advocates and the real estate sector, industry experts note it does not address several auxiliary pressures on the market, including climbing insurance premiums, a lack of construction labor, and stagnant wage growth for buyers and renters.
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