WASHINGTON — A sweeping bipartisan housing measure aimed at expanding the U.S. housing supply and lowering costs became law after President Donald Trump declined to sign the legislation, allowing it to take effect automatically under the Constitution despite his public opposition tied to an unrelated voting proposal.
The legislation, known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, cleared Congress last month with overwhelming bipartisan support, receiving veto-proof majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Because Trump neither signed nor vetoed the bill within the constitutional 10-day period while Congress remained in session, it became law without his signature.
Trump said he refused to sign the measure in protest over the Senate's failure to advance the SAVE America Act, a separate election proposal backed by the White House that would tighten voter registration requirements and impose additional election rules. He described the housing legislation as a lower priority than election-related reforms.
The new law represents one of the most significant federal housing packages enacted in decades. Its provisions are intended to increase housing construction, streamline certain regulatory and environmental review processes for qualifying developments, encourage manufactured and modular housing, and restrict some institutional investment in single-family homes in an effort to improve affordability and expand supply.
Lawmakers from both parties welcomed the measure's enactment, arguing that the legislation addresses longstanding shortages that have contributed to rising home prices and rents across much of the United States. Supporters said the package reflects months of bipartisan negotiations and marks a rare example of broad agreement in a sharply divided Congress.
Democratic supporters criticized Trump's decision not to sign the bill, arguing that he had attempted to use widely supported housing legislation as leverage to secure action on unrelated election measures. Republicans who backed the legislation emphasized that expanding the nation's housing supply remained a priority regardless of the president's decision not to endorse it formally.
The measure took effect automatically after the constitutional deadline expired, ending weeks of uncertainty over its fate and allowing federal agencies to begin implementing its provisions according to the timetable established in the law.
