Trump stuns Senate Republicans by canceling housing bill signing over voting measure

Hours before Senate Republicans were set to gather at Statuary Hall for a noon signing ceremony, Donald Trump canceled the event for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which passed Congress with wide bipartisan support. Trump told lawmakers he would not sign the housing package until Congress passed his SAVE America Act.

The bill, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed the Senate 85-5 on Monday and the House 358-32 on Tuesday. Negotiated by Sens. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the measure aims to increase supply, reduce costs and limit large institutional investors’ ability to buy single-family homes. Republicans had planned to sell it as an election-year accomplishment.

Instead, Trump tied the housing measure to his voting bill, which would require proof of citizenship for all voters and impose nationwide voter-ID rules. The SAVE America Act lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, leaving Trump with a demand his own party cannot easily deliver. Mike Johnson had expected the housing bill to be signed, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was still promoting the ceremony Tuesday night before it was pulled.

The dispute spilled into a closed-door Senate Republican meeting at the Capitol luncheon, where tension over the Iran war powers resolution added to the friction. The resolution passed 50-48, with four Republicans joining Democrats, and drew Trump’s anger at Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both of whom backed the measure. Cassidy later said he “lost [his] temper,” and Trump publicly described the gathering as a “great meeting” even as he acknowledged frustration with some Republicans. Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved to calm the room.

Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he did not understand why Trump was holding the housing bill “hostage” over the voting measure.