House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he will send a bipartisan housing affordability bill to President Donald Trump on Monday, four days after Trump canceled plans to sign the legislation and said he would not act on the bill until Congress passes the SAVE America Act.
Johnson said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that he believes Trump will sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act despite the president’s public refusal last week.
“I’m going to send the bill over to him on Monday, and it will become law,” Johnson said. “I certainly want him to take the biggest, boldest marker that he has and do that big Trump signature proudly on that legislation because we’re delivering for the people, and that’s what he wants to do.”
Once the bill is delivered to the White House, Trump will have 10 days to sign or veto it, or let it become law without his signature.
The legislation consolidates 60 separate bills and cleared both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support — the House voted 358-32 and the Senate voted 85-5. It aims to lower housing costs, expand homeownership access, limit large corporate and institutional ownership of homes for rental purposes, ease bureaucratic hurdles to speed development, modernize federal housing programs and banking regulations, and create incentives for local governments to prioritize housing.
Trump was originally scheduled to sign the bill on June 24, but he canceled the ceremony and said he would not act on the housing legislation until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a measure that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Opponents say the bill would disenfranchise millions of legitimate voters. The measure has not attracted enough votes to pass.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., said Sunday on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” that he would not be surprised if Trump does not sign the housing bill.
“I don’t know with this president, because he’s said that he doesn’t care about rising costs,” Subramanyam said. “He said … if he doesn’t have a housing problem and his friends don’t have a problem with housing, then it doesn’t matter to him. So I actually wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t sign it.”
The National Low Income Housing Coalition, a nonprofit group, estimates the United States faces a shortage of 7.2 million affordable rental units for low-income renters, causing what the group describes as a housing crisis in every state.