Trump threatens veto of housing bill over Senate failure to pass SAVE America Act

Trump's Veto Threat

Donald Trump is staging a protest over a potential bipartisan legislative victory in a futile attempt to advance the SAVE America Act.

"I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, which is polling at 97 percent with the Republican Party, and very high with the non-politician Dumocrats," Trump posted on Truth Social Friday morning.

Why the Protest Is Pointless

Trump's protest carries no practical effect. Under the Constitution, bills automatically become law after 10 days if the president neither signs nor vetoes them. The housing affordability measure passed both chambers of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and Trump has not indicated he will issue a last-minute veto. The bill is currently scheduled to become law at midnight.

The SAVE America Act Controversy

The SAVE America Act sparked nationwide controversy earlier this year, particularly over a provision in its first version that would have made it more difficult for married women to vote. Backlash has been severe:

• Dispute over the voter ID bill has gummed up efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security
• It has stalled attempts to pass the National Defense Authorization Act
• It has upended Trump's own cabinet nominations

Original Bill Provisions

The original SAVE America Act proposed numerous amendments to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, including:

• Abolishing mail-in voting
• Requiring voters to bring proof of citizenship and proof of residency to register
• Requiring voter ID
• Mandating voter roll purges every 30 days

Current Version

The bill has been radically pared down. House Speaker Mike Johnson has claimed the current iteration preserves the "backbone" of what Trump is pushing to pass in the Senate, including:

• Requirements to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote (such as a birth certificate or U.S. passport, which only half of the population currently possesses)
• A mandate to present photo identification when casting a ballot

Trump has also insisted the bill ban mail-in voting, describing the procedure as "crooked" and "corrupt" despite having cast several mail-in ballots himself.

Political Reality

"THE SAVE AMERICA ACT'S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!" Trump continued in his Friday post. "If the Dumocrats, or any RINO (or worse!) working with them, do not allow a positive Vote on SAVE AMERICA, TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, and pass this, and every other Bill that true Republicans have ever dreamt of (In addition to the upcoming Budget BOMB and the 1929 catastrophic style DEBT CEILING BILL!)"

However, Republicans simply do not have the votes to end the filibuster or pass Trump's unpopular voter ID bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told The Hill last month.

The Housing Bill

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is designed to address the American housing crisis, which has suffered from:

• Bottlenecked housing supply
• Stalled family growth
• Surged home and rental prices nationwide

The bill will:

• Funnel resources toward increasing housing supply
• Streamline environmental reviews
• Force the Department of Housing and Urban Development to address red-tape issues related to zoning and land-use that have historically posed barriers to housing development

In June, Trump described the bill as "a yawn."

Housing Market Context

Trump's intention to distance himself from the effort comes on the heels of a bombshell report by the National Association of Realtors indicating that national home prices in June rose to the highest level on record.

"Republicans would rather make it harder to vote than easier to afford a home," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries [wrote on X](https://...