President Donald Trump on Wednesday canceled a planned signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing bill, declaring that he will not approve the legislation until Congress passes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act.
The decision puts a widely supported housing measure in limbo despite its passage through both chambers of Congress with veto-proof majorities.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced the cancellation of the event and tied his support for the housing legislation to action on the voting bill.
“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,” Trump wrote.
The move highlights growing friction between the president and Senate Republicans over the SAVE America Act, a measure that has repeatedly failed to advance in the Senate.
Trump has publicly urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to eliminate the filibuster in order to pass the legislation. Thune has so far resisted those calls.
The housing bill, which received broad bipartisan backing in both the House and Senate, now faces uncertainty. While Congress is scheduled to begin a two-week recess on Friday, Senate leaders are expected to hold pro forma sessions during the break, preventing a formal adjournment that could trigger a pocket veto scenario.
Trump’s relationship with Senate Republicans has become increasingly strained in recent months amid disagreements over legislative strategy and other key issues.
Asked about Trump’s decision to withhold his signature from the housing bill, Thune told reporters, “At this point, I don’t have any observations about that.”
The president had been expected to travel to Capitol Hill to sign the legislation and address the Senate Republican Steering Committee. It remained unclear Wednesday whether he would still attend the meeting following the cancellation of the signing ceremony.
Republican senators have expressed frustration with Trump’s repeated push for the SAVE America Act after the measure failed five times on the Senate floor.
The dispute also extends beyond the housing bill. Trump has refused to support an extension of enhanced surveillance authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act unless the SAVE America Act is attached. He has also surprised Senate Republicans in recent weeks by directing his nominee for director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, not to attend his Senate confirmation hearing and by declining requests from GOP senators for a briefing on a memorandum of understanding signed with Iran.
House Republicans are now exploring another route to advance the voting legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday that a future reconciliation package may provide the best opportunity for passage.
“The only path, I think, to get that done, because you’re never going to get seven Democrats to join 53 Republicans in the Senate to do that. They will not do it. Chuck Schumer will never vote for that or release any Democrat to do it. You have to put it on a reconciliation bill,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he discussed the strategy directly with Trump earlier in the day.
“I talked the president through that in detail this morning, as I have in the past, and he said, ‘Can we do it?’ I said, ‘We can, if the Republicans will stand together.’ We’re on the line right now to defend it. So that’s what we’re going to do,” Johnson said.
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