President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will not sign the housing bill passed by Congress in June, a move that will allow the legislation to become law automatically at midnight Saturday. The bill, known formally as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, earned overwhelming bipartisan support with votes of 358-32 in the House and 85-5 in the Senate. Trump withheld his signature as a protest against Senate Republicans' failure to pass the election security-focused SAVE America Act, which he has made a top legislative priority.

Although Trump stated he would not sign the housing bill, he stopped short of issuing a veto. Under the U.S. Constitution, if a president does not veto a bill within 10 days of receiving it, excluding Sundays, the bill becomes law by default. The White House directed inquiries to Trump's post on his social media platform Truth Social, where he expressed frustration over the Senate's inability to pass the SAVE America Act, which seeks to impose stricter voter identification and registration requirements.

The housing bill aims to reduce costs for homebuyers and limit the influence of large institutional investors in the housing market. This development comes amid rising home prices, with the National Association of Realtors reporting the median price of existing homes hitting a record $440,600 in June, an increase of 1.8% from the previous year. Democrats criticized Trump’s refusal to sign the bill, accusing him of disregarding the affordable housing crisis and prioritizing his political agenda over Americans’ economic challenges.

Trump has been pushing Republicans in Congress to prioritize the SAVE America Act ahead of the November midterm elections, despite opposition within his party and concerns over the bill's necessity, given that noncitizens voting in federal elections is already illegal and extremely rare. Senate Republican leaders have defended the filibuster rules that require a 60-vote threshold to advance most legislation, effectively blocking the election bill's passage. Meanwhile, Democrats are using affordability as a key issue to try to retake control of Congress in the upcoming elections.