The 2026 Housing Act Passed by a Wide Margin; Trump Won’t Sign It. What’s Up with That?

Lisa Russell-Mina, Bridge2Blue

Good news: On June 22, 2026, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed in the House and Senate by overwhelming margins.

Bad news: President Trump threw a “temper tantrum,” according to Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, and refused to attend the bill signing ceremony. Trump chose to hold the Housing Act hostage in an attempt to pressure Congress to pass the “SAVE America Act,” a bill that would bypass the states and suppress voting by adding complicated voting requirements.

Currently, elections are run by each state, not the federal government.

You may be asking, “What is in the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and can it become law without Trump’s signature? Will the SAVE America Act ever become law?”

The Housing Act aims to make housing more plentiful and affordable. It will smooth the path for developers, home buyers, and renters in the future. The new legislation, when signed, would:

• Improve access to small-dollar mortgages
• Increase housing in Opportunity Zones
• Provide best practices nationally for state and local zoning and land-use policy
• Coordinate environmental reviews by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to save time.
• Create guidelines for allowing single-stairway multi-family dwellings, which will leave more space for condos and apartments in the building
• Reform housing counseling and financial literacy programs to help people know what they can afford
• Restrict large institutional investors from buying up single-family homes, and establish a “renter outreach resource” at HUD for tenants of properties already owned by institutional investors.

The new federal housing law will provide important benefits for Virginians, in tandem with the state’s recently enacted housing measures.

Rep. Don Beyer (VA-8) called the bill “a big win for everyone who wants to make housing more affordable,” a top priority for his Northern Virginia constituents. Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-4) noted that it will help address the sky-high housing costs and shrinking supply that have priced young people and families out of their communities.

Many of the federal housing bill provisions mirror a slate of housing and renter‑protection laws recently passed by the Virginia General Assembly and signed by the Governor, which expand local authority, preserve affordable homes, and speed up new development.

Under these laws, localities can create affordable housing programs, protect existing units through first‑right‑of‑refusal, and use new grant tools and streamlined approvals to accelerate construction. The laws provide financing options and expanded homeownership grants to support workers and communities, while renters benefit from stronger protections, including an extended 14‑day grace period for late payments.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson recently said the Housing Actl will most likely become law. “He [Trump] won’t veto the bill. We already know that. He’ll either allow it to just go into law, or he’ll put his signature on it and take partial ownership, and I hope he does the latter.”

Experts believe the SAVE America Act (formerly called the SAVE Act) has little chance of passing in the Senate, despite pressure from the president to make it law. The House tried this week to pass a third version of the act tied to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to pressure Senate passage, since NDAAs often get strong bipartisan support. However, the House failed to pass the rule under which the votes would be taken, and then departed early for next week’s holiday recess.

• The SAVE America Act would pull power from the states and increase restrictions on registering to vote. Trump claims he wants to cut down on non-citizen voting — something that rarely happens in this country because all registrants already have to attest to citizenship under penalty of perjury.
• In February 2026, the House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act, which would implement strict limitations on voter registration and casting a ballot including new rules requiring extensive documentation that could make it more difficult for married women, or people who’ve changed their names, to register and vote. Mail-in voters would have to submit copies of their identification as well.
• The Senate has not passed the SAVE America Act, and experts say there is little chance it will do so.

Can the Housing Act be enacted even if Trump does not sign it?

Due to the overwhelming support for the federal Housing Act — and despite Trump’s cancellation of the bill-signing ceremony in an effort to pressure Congress to pass the SAVE America Act — the legislation does not require Trump’s signature to be enacted into law.

• The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act was transmitted to President Trump on June 29, 2026. Under the U.S. Constitution, a president has 10 days (excluding Sundays) to either sign or veto a bill. If the president takes no action while Congress remains in session, the bill automatically becomes law without his signature. The 10-day mark is Friday, July 10, 2026.
• Trump can veto the bill if he so chooses. Because the legislation passed with a veto-proof supermajority (85-5 in the Senate and 358-32 in the House), Congress can directly override a presidential veto, if necessary. Congress, however, may not sustain that same overwhelming level of support if enough legislators fear the president’s wrath.
• There is a procedural risk called a “pocket veto,” which can happen if the president takes no action and Congress adjourns. Mike Johnson adjourned the House right after Trump refused to sign the bill. Experts are not in agreement on whether a potential pocket veto would apply during a temporary congressional recess like the current recess. According to the New York Times, if Congress is still adjourned at the 10-day mark, the bill is pocket-vetoed.