In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to block an affordable housing bill Congress had given final passage to the night before, sparking panic and shock from onlookers across the political spectrum.
“We saw glimpses of this during Trump’s first administration, but never in my lifetime have I seen a president so deliberately attempt to lose majorities for his own party,” a senior Senate GOP staffer told Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
In a bipartisan fashion, the House voted 358-32 to pass the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, sending it to the president’s desk for final approval. Trump was expected to sign the bill on Wednesday but abruptly cancelled the ceremony in a bid to force Republicans to eliminate the filibuster – a Senate rule that allows lawmakers to block bills short of 60 votes – and pass his controversial voter ID bill known as the SAVE Act.
“Trump refuses to sign a bill that would make housing cheaper for you because [he’d] rather make voting harder for you!” wrote Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) in a social media post on X.
Described by critics as a form of “voter suppression,” the SAVE Act would require voters to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote, posing hurdles for the 52% of voters who don’t possess a passport and the 11% who don’t have access to their birth certificate. The bill would disproportionately affect voters with lower incomes, who make up a significant share of Democratic Party voters.
“Trump is delaying rare bipartisan progress of voters’ number one issue to chase the never-gonna-happen dreams of a small number of conservative senators,” wrote Kevin Robillard, senior politics editor for the HuffPost, in a social media post on X.
Carter Christensen, the communications strategy manager for the Democratic Party fundraising platform ActBlue, warned that Trump’s latest move could be a dire indicator of things to come.
“He’s prepping to challenge the midterms y’all!” Christensen wrote in a social media post on X.
Jonathan Berk, a housing accessibility advocate and founder of re:Main, an organization that advocates for improved housing accessibility, lamented the impact Trump’s threat could pose for millions of Americans.
“One of the most consequential housing reforms to emerge from Washington in decades is now on hold,” Berk wrote.
Senior Senate GOP aide on Trump abruptly canceling signing ceremony for housing bill:
“We saw glimpses of this during Trump’s first administration, but never in my lifetime have I seen a president so deliberately attempt to lose majorities for his own party.”
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) June 24, 2026