President Donald Trump has refused to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act despite Congress passing the legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support. According to a Truth Social post by President Trump, he decided not to sign the housing bill because the Senate has yet to pass the Save America Act, which he has repeatedly urged lawmakers to approve. The housing bill passed the House 358-32 and the Senate 85-5, making it one of the most popular pieces of legislation in recent memory. Trump has claimed he was refusing to sign the bill 'in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.' The White House had previously signaled support for the legislation, making the last-minute reversal all the more jarring for supporters of the housing reform package.
For the crypto industry, one section of the legislation has attracted particular attention because it would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency until 2031. The restriction would extend the administration's earlier position after Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies not to take steps toward creating a U.S. CBDC. The CBDC ban doesn't mention any specific tokens or projects, essentially telling the Fed to shelve any retail digital currency ambitions for at least four years. For an industry that has spent years lobbying against CBDCs, getting this language into a bill with 85 Senate votes was something close to a policy miracle. The stablecoin market has grown enormously, with projects like Tether and Circle's USDC becoming critical infrastructure for crypto trading and DeFi. A government-issued competitor would have posed an existential question for these products, but the ban removes that threat from the near-term landscape.
In his Truth Social statement, Trump argued that the Senate's failure to pass the Save America Act is unacceptable despite what he described as overwhelming support among Republican voters. The legislation would require voters to present photo identification in federal elections, a measure the president has continued to promote as an election integrity safeguard. Trump said the legislation was not the right approach to tackling the housing shortage, signalling that his administration would instead pursue other policies that focus on reducing regulations and encouraging private-sector investment in housing. 'THE SAVE AMERICA ACT'S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!' Trump said, emphasizing the urgency of the legislation. Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated he expects Trump to ultimately sign the bill within the constitutionally mandated 10-day window.
The disagreement highlights the widening divide between Democrats and Republicans over housing policy. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries swiftly condemned Trump's decision, accusing Republicans of prioritising electoral issues over efforts to reduce housing costs. 'Republicans would rather make it harder to vote than easier to afford a home,' Jeffries said in a social media post. While supporters of the bill argue that it would help expand housing supply and improve affordability without any new federal spending, opponents contend that the legislation would increase federal involvement without adequately addressing the underlying causes of the housing crisis. The measure faces significant political hurdles now that Trump has come out against it, although it has bipartisan support in Congress. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Trump's decision, arguing that refusing to sign the housing legislation delayed action on a bill designed to address housing affordability.
