US President Donald Trump has called off a planned signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing bill ahead of a meeting with Senate Republicans in the Capitol.

Trump posted on social media that he would no longer be signing, as planned for today, the bipartisan measure to increase home construction.

“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.”
Donald Trump

Trump has been pushing the Senate to remove the filibuster in order to pass the SAVE America Act, which would introduce new voter identification requirements. Trump hasn’t backed down even though Senate Majority Leader John Thune, has repeatedly told him that neither has the votes to pass. The bill would require proof of citizenship for all voters and force states to require voter identification. Democratic lawmakers say the measure as written would be a form of voter suppression.

Commenting on Trump’s post on the housing bill, Thune told reporters, “that was his call to make.”

“What I would say is that the bill is a bill that has been worked on for a long time. It’s a great piece of legislation that increases the supply of housing and the availability of credit for people to afford homes. So it’s an affordability issue and eventually I hope he finds a way to sign it.”
John Thune

Posting on social media, he dismissed the measure that Senator Elizabeth Warren helped to craft. He said that the housing measure, which aims to reduce federal regulations, expand local control and ban corporate investors from buying up single-family homes, was “of minor importance compared to lower interest rates.” Thirty-year mortgage rates are averaging around 6.5%, having spiked from 6% earlier this year with the start of the Iran war.

The US President used his post to say that his SAVE America Act on voter identification was more important, even though polling shows the electorate is primarily concerned about affordability.

Trump’s announcement came at an awkward time for House Republican leadership, coming just as they were speaking at a press conference about the importance of the bill in addressing affordability, a key issue for voters this year. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise had just described it as “really important bill to lower housing costs.”

Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill also said, “Let’s show the American people what legislating looks like,” adding, “Let’s show the American people how you bring together and do something on a bicameral basis, and we did that.”

Speaker Mike Johnson said he had spoken with Trump earlier today and was confident he would sign the bill. “The President, when we go through the details of the bill, he’s going to understand that it’s a good product,” Johnson said.

Cancelled Signing Of Bipartisan Housing Bill Criticised

Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas said that Trump refused to sign the bill “all because of political games.” “Families are struggling to afford a home,” she posted on X, adding, “Stop the nonsense and sign the BIPARTISAN bill.”

An analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center says that the bill incorporates provisions from more than 60 measures introduced in the House, Senate, or both chambers—36 of which had bipartisan sponsors.

The Democratic Senator who helped craft the measure said that she couldn’t understand why Trump thought canceling the signing ceremony was a smart idea. “This just doesn’t make any sense,” Elizabeth Warren said, adding that the only conclusion she could draw is that Trump has “a complete indifference to the cost squeeze on American families, and to genuine efforts to do something about it.”

The Massachusetts lawmaker said that Trump is his own worst enemy when it comes to lowering interest rates to help make housing more affordable. She asserted that his tariffs, his energy policies and his Iran war have kept inflation running hotter than it should, keeping borrowing costs high.

Ahead of Trump’s arrival on Capitol Hill, Republican Senators processed his decision to cancel the signing of the housing bill. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi called the move “unexpected” and said that he read the President’s message “with interest.”

Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said that Trump’s reversal “makes no sense” and would hurt Republicans in the November midterm elections. He said, “There is a huge group of people who really appreciate what the President’s doing right now and it’s the Democrat Party.”

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said Trump was “using everything as leverage to get the SAVE America Act passed.”