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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his plans to sign a major, bipartisan housing bill Wednesday, saying he will not do so until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a sweeping elections bill that has become a focal point of his second term.
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“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” he posted on his Truth Social account.
It was not immediately clear whether he still plans to sign the housing bill or veto it. And Trump did not address the bill at all in comments to reporters after meeting with Republican senators on Capitol Hill for lunch.
Trump has repeatedly pressed Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which would overhaul elections in all 50 states and add new proof of citizenship and voter ID requirements.
But Republican leadership insists they do not have the votes to pass it, given Democrats’ strong opposition and an unwillingness among Republicans to get rid of the legislative filibuster.
Trump’s decision to cancel the signing ceremony for the housing bill that passed the House and Senate this week with huge, bipartisan majorities will only add to the tension between the White House and Senate Republicans.
Trump attended the Senate GOP’s weekly lunch, after being invited by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to discuss SAVE and other issues. The invitation predated Trump’s decision not to sign the housing bill on Wednesday.
After that meeting, Trump told reporters that the party is “unified” and touted the U.S. economy and the state of talks to end the Iran war, but did not address the housing bill or the SAVE America Act. He did not take questions.
“We’re very proud of the party. We like our leader, we like everybody really in the room. I don’t like a few people, but that’s okay,” Trump told reporters.
The housing bill aims to lower costs, in part by building more homes and restricting large investors from buying up single-family homes. It gives Republicans a major legislative accomplishment to point to as voters rank the cost of living as a top issue in the November elections. It’s the kind of thing Republicans have been clamoring for amid worries that the Iran war driving up gas prices will cost them control of Congress.
But Trump undercut the bill just hours before he canceled the planned signing, writing in another Truth Social post that it was “of minor importance” before pivoting back to the SAVE America Act.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., laughed when reporters asked him about Trump canceling the signing. “I just heard that. … I guess I would say at this point I don’t have any observations about that,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended the president’s decision to hold up the housing bill as leverage for the SAVE America Act.
“He has a window of time before he has to sign a bill, and he’s going to use a little bit more of that window of time, and we’re going to go through this together,” the speaker said at a House GOP leadership news conference, adding that it is his “estimation” that Trump will sign it within the 10-day window the Constitution sets for the president to sign bills before they automatically become law.
Other House Republicans were dumbfounded by Trump’s decision, but spoke candidly on the condition of anonymity. “What a s— show. … Crazy crazy crazy,” one House Republican said in a text to NBC News. “A once in a generation housing bill falls victim to the nuts.”
Another expressed less surprise: “Trump did something outrageous to keep the spotlight focused on him. Shocker.”
And a third House Republican who represents a district Trump won handily in 2024 warned about the potential consequences for November. “I’m not that safe. No incumbent is safe,” the Republican wrote. “People are pissed off that we are not taking care of business.”
At a meeting in the Oval Office with Republican lawmakers in recent weeks ostensibly to discuss housing affordability legislation, Trump “talked about his building stuff for all but about 15 minutes,” said a person familiar with the meeting.
“He then said, I don’t care about housing, but if you want me to help, I will,” the person added.
The housing bill was negotiated across the House and Senate by committee leaders in both parties: Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Reps. French Hill, R-Ark., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
But Trump focused on Warren in his Truth Social post, calling it a “Warren centric housing bill.”
Some House Republicans expressed support for Trump’s focus on the SAVE America Act.
A group of GOP lawmakers led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have now vowed to block any legislation in the House until Congress passes the election bill. The effort forced the House to cancel “rule” votes on Wednesday afternoon that would have brought several different bills to the floor this week.
Luna posted that she will “have to be a NO on rules for this week (and maybe even longer).” Without rule votes, which are typically approved along party lines, the House cannot bring forward bills to be debated and voted on.
Democrats were quick to capitalize.
“Congress passed a bipartisan bill to make it easier to own a home,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., wrote on X. “The President is refusing to sign it. Donald Trump doesn’t care about lowering costs for you.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Trump was “making such a fool of himself” by refusing to sign a bill that would make housing more affordable. But, he added, “It looks like even if Trump decides to veto it, there are probably enough votes in both houses to override that veto.”
Trump on Truth Social again demanded that Republicans abolish the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act. That would mean changing Senate rules to remove the 60-vote threshold to pass most legislation. But Thune and other Republicans have said they do not have the votes to do so.
Johnson said Republicans should pass the SAVE America Act through budget reconciliation, an expedited procedure that allows the Senate to circumvent filibusters by advancing partisan tax or spending bills with a simple majority.
Brennan Leach is an associate producer for NBC News covering the Senate.
Kyle Stewart is a producer and off-air reporter covering Congress for NBC News, managing coverage of the House.
Melanie Zanona is a Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News.
Frank Thorp V is a coordinating producer and off-air reporter covering Congress for NBC News, managing coverage of the Senate.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC
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