In protest against his own party: Trump allows housing law to be passed without a signature.Image: keystone
Bipartisan legislation to address the housing cost crisis is about to go into effect. But Donald Trump doesn’t want to sign it – in protest against his own party.
July 10, 2026, 8:13 p.mJuly 10, 2026, 8:13 p.m
Donald Trump refuses to sign a major housing bill. How CNN reports, the US President does not want to sign the bipartisan bill, even though it has already been passed in Congress.
The law should still come into force at midnight. In the USA, a law passed by Congress can become valid without the President’s signature if the President does not expressly block it with a veto. Politically, Trump’s decision is still explosive.
Republicans had originally hoped to present the law as an important economic policy success before the midterm elections. Instead, it now goes into effect largely without any orchestration from the president.
Protest over electoral law
Trump does not justify his refusal with the content of the housing law. Rather, he is protesting that Republicans in the Senate were unable to advance a separate election bill.
According to CNN, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would not sign the housing bill because the Senate was unable to pass the so-called “Save America Act.” This law imposes, among other things, stricter requirements for voter identification and proof of citizenship.
Trump again called on Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster. This rule allows the Senate minority to block votes if a majority of 60 votes cannot be reached.
Setback for Republicans
For Republican MPs, Trump’s move is a significant setback. Many of them had been negotiating the housing bill with the Democrats for months. According to CNN, this is the largest housing affordability law in a generation.
The topic would have been important, especially before the midterm elections. Many Americans are worried about high rents, expensive mortgages and rising costs of living. The Republicans wanted to use the law to show that they have an answer to this.
Trump, however, downplayed the importance of the law. According to CNN, he described it to reporters as “boring.” When asked about the meaning of the law, he said: it’s a big deal, it’s hilarious.
Trump doubts the usefulness of the law
The president has shown little enthusiasm for the project for a long time. Republican MPs and some representatives in the White House saw the law as the centerpiece of the party’s economic policy response to the high cost of living.
According to CNN, Trump repeatedly questioned whether the law actually helped. In his view, lower interest rates would contribute more to easing pressure on the housing market than the measures in the law. He also doubted whether the Republicans had made too many concessions to the Democrats for their approval.
In his post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump barely addressed the content of the housing bill. Instead, he directed his anger again at Republican senators. If they do not advance his election law, he wrote, the title “stupid” will fall back on those Republicans who allowed this catastrophe for the party and the country.
Democrats attack Trump
The Democrats immediately used Trump’s decision to criticize. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who played a central role in the negotiations, wrote on
Some Republicans are also likely to be dissatisfied with the situation. They had hoped for a signing that would attract media attention so that they could sell the law as a success during the election campaign.
Back in June, a planned signing ceremony on Capitol Hill was canceled at short notice after Trump expressed his frustration over the blocked election law.
Johnson tried to change Trump’s mind
After the rejection, top Republican politicians tried to get Trump to support the housing bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson went to the White House several times to explain the benefits of the law to the president, according to CNN.
Even Mike Johnson couldn’t get through to Trump.Image: keystone
In the end, Johnson officially passed the law on. This began a ten-day period after which the law can come into force even without Trump’s signature.
So Trump doesn’t veto it. But he denies Republicans the very political moment they desperately need before the midterm elections. (mke)