Trump Gives Washington A Taste Of Its Own Medicine, Refuses To Sign Housing Bill

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump stunned lawmakers on Wednesday with the announcement that he would not be coming to Capitol Hill as planned to sign the much-discussed housing bill.

The president said in a mid-morning Truth Social post that he had canceled his planned press conference and would not be signing the housing bill until lawmakers passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing bill had passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate with strong bipartisan support.

“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 said.

He had signaled his frustration earlier on Wednesday morning with a post about Democrat Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s involvement with the housing bill.

The Presidential seal from the podium is packed away after President Trump canceled the housing bill signing event in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“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,” Trump wrote. “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,” Trump argued. “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!!!”

The president was originally scheduled to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act at noon on Wednesday at the United States Capitol. He was then scheduled to attend the Senate Republican Steering Committee Lunch at 1:00 p.m.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he is also skipping the lunch.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Wednesday that he spoke to Trump before a Republican conference meeting on Wednesday morning about the SAVE America Act. The speaker said that he told Trump that the bill has passed the House multiple times but is stuck in the Senate due to opposition from Democrats.

“He’s laser-focused on SAVE America Act,” Johnson noted, adding, “You have to put it in a reconciliation bill.”

Trump’s announcement came while Johnson and other Republican leaders were holding a news conference highlighting the housing legislation.

“He decided, and I didn’t announce it, I wanted him to announce it,” Johnson told reporters after Trump’s post. “But we’re delaying this. As you know, he has a window of time before he has to sign a bill, and he’s going to use a little bit more of this window of time and we’re going to go through this together.”