Speaker Johnson sends bipartisan housing bill to White House — but Trump says it’s a ‘yawn’
By Adam Cancryn, Kristen Holmes, Ellis Kim, Morgan Rimmer, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Monday remained undecided over whether he’d sign a bipartisan housing bill, saying shortly after the House speaker sent it to the White House that it was “so unimportant” compared with his efforts to secure a controversial overhaul of federal elections.
“Big deal,” Trump said sarcastically of the legislation. “It’s a yawn.”
Speaker Mike Johnson transmitted the housing affordability bill to the White House on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the Louisiana Republican, kicking off a 10-day countdown for the bill to become law, even if the president does not sign it.
A source familiar with the matter said Trump is unlikely to sign the bill, though they noted that “he could always have a change of heart.” The source said Trump will not veto the bill either — he’d simply allow it to become law after the 10 days.
The president’s continued reticence comes after he abruptly canceled a signing ceremony last week for the housing bill, vowing not to approve it until the Senate agreed to move on his federal elections overhaul bill, the “SAVE America Act.”
The decision dismayed congressional Republicans, who have touted the housing legislation as a key part of their affordability agenda ahead of November’s midterms.
“Btw, it’s irresponsible to postpone signing the Housing bill due to the SAVE Act. We need to start delivering relief to people for the high cost of housing ASAP!!” GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy wrote on X Monday.
But Trump on Monday indicated that he disagreed with elements of the bill, in part because Democrats had supported the measure alongside Republicans.
“It’s very bipartisan — that means the Democrats like it,” he said. “They’re getting things that I wouldn’t necessarily agree to.”
Trump’s fixation on the voter ID and proof-of-citizenship measure has further crippled an already-dysfunctional Congress, leaving Republicans unable to move on critical elements of their agenda.
Wednesday’s signing ceremony was only the latest piece of congressional business to be waylaid by the president’s pressure on the elections bill, despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other senior Republican lawmakers insisting to the president that there is no path for passage.
In the immediate aftermath, Senate and House Republicans expressed hope that the president would ultimately sign the housing bill, especially as vulnerable GOP members up for reelection planned to campaign on its passage ahead of the November midterms.
The housing bill, the “21st Century Road to Housing Act,” aims to tackle the country’s affordability crisis primarily through encouraging more housing supply. The bill also includes a first-of-its-kind limit on private equity by prohibiting large investors from buying single-family homes.
Johnson and Trump had a lengthy meeting Thursday, after which the House speaker said that the pair are “exactly on the same page” and that he would send the housing measure to the White House.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
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