Is this the Art of the Deal? Or, perhaps, a little push to get the Senate back on side for the White House’s biggest domestic-policy priority?
In a rare bipartisan moment, Congress overwhelmingly passed a new housing bill and sent it to Donald Trump this week. Trump had indicated that he would sign the bill, while being unhappy that more effort had not gone into his SAVE America Act, a collection of election policies that includes the highly popular voter-ID requirement for federal elections. The bill itself supports Trump’s midterm messaging on affordability, and the White House had been promoting the signing ceremony.
Until this morning, that is, when Trump suddenly reversed course. He won’t sign any legislation, he declared on Truth Social, until Congress passes his election-reform package:
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. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT
Fifteen minutes earlier, Trump scoffed at the “minor importance” of the bill, which he claimed represented Elizabeth Warren’s priorities rather than the GOP’s or the people’s:
The Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren centric housing bill, which is of minor importance compared to lower interest rates, and even FISA, pales in comparison to passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. That is what Americans, both Dumocrats, Republicans, and everyone else, care about. Get the bad Republicans to approve it or, better yet, Terminate the Filibuster and approve it, AND EVERYTHING ELSE REPUBLICANS HAVE EVER DREAMED OF. The Dumocrats will do it in hour one, 100%. Republicans will feel very stupid if they don’t do it first. I’ll be watching with tears in my eyes!!! President DJT
Trump has repeatedly warned that he won’t sign anything until he gets the SAVE America bill on his desk. The problem with that posture is that there doesn’t appear to be 50 votes for it at the moment. Even if John Thune killed the filibuster – and he’s clearly not going to do that – it may not pass anyway. Trump insisted on moving forward on a comprehensive reform bill rather than focusing narrowly on voter-ID requirements, which might have forced a few Democrats into support. The addition of other provisions is complicating matters for Senate Republicans.
And, of course, Trump’s intervention in primary challenges to Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn hasn’t helped matters either, especially on the filibuster question.
Just how much leverage does this provide Trump to force action from Senate Republicans? Not as much as it looks. First, the bill will become law in ten days even if Trump doesn’t sign it. The “pocket veto” only works when Congress adjourns, and the Senate won’t adjourn in the next ten days. Otherwise, a refusal to sign a bill will tacitly allow it to become law. Trump could threaten a veto, but that’s not likely to work either:
Drama from Trump. But no real leverage. This bill will become law without his signature if he does not act within 10 days. If he vetoes, well, Congress passed this by veto-proof majorities and the subject is central to the election.https://t.co/wjGUFb6U2H pic.twitter.com/GCJyaBPcpf
— Olivier Knox (@OKnox) June 24, 2026
A veto of a broadly bipartisan housing bill will be akin to cutting off the nose to spite the midterm face. The White House promoted this bill-signing for a reason; Trump needs a firm pivot back to the economy, and more importantly, so do Republicans in the midterm elections. Not only does it provide that kind of on-ramp to midterm messaging, it does contain some GOP priorities as well … which is why Trump pushed for it last month:
The housing bill, called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, is a package of more than 50 provisions aimed at making it easier to build homes and make housing more affordable. It includes measures speeding up federal environmental reviews for certain housing projects, removing restrictions on building manufactured homes, and tying cities’ federal funding to their housing production.
Trump urged Congress to pass the housing bill in May.
As for a veto, Olivier is correct:
The Senate passed the housing bill on Monday with a 85-5 majority. Sens. Mike Lee (R., Utah), Rick Scott (R., Fla.), and Ron Johnson (R., Wis.)—who have advocated for the SAVE America Act—were among the handful of lawmakers to vote no. The House cleared the legislation on Tuesday by a 358-32 majority, easily stamping out an effort by the House Freedom Caucus to torpedo the legislation as a form of leverage to pass the voting-eligibility bill.
A veto will result in an embarrassing override that won’t serve anyone’s interests except those of Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. A refusal to sign the bill will just remove some of the claim to own this legislation when it comes to midterm messaging. Trump might do better by going back to the drawing board and tightening up the SAVE America Act to get full unanimity from the Senate GOP caucus and then make the filibuster argument, or figure out how to wrap it into the next reconciliation package.
Trump knows deals well enough to understand when he doesn’t have leverage. Let’s see how long this impasse lasts. I’d bet on a signing ceremony by the end of the week, as that is the path with the most benefit to Trump and his midterm messaging.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
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