Trump says he will let housing bill go into effect without his signature - amid protests

United States President Donald Trump said today that he will let the Republican-Democrat housing bill passed by Congress go into effect without his signature, and that he is refusing to put his name on it because there has been no progress on the law on stricter voting rules, which he insists on.

"I will not sign the Housing Act, which Congress has fully passed and sent to the White House - in PROTEST over the fact that the U.S. Senate is unable to pass the 'Save America' (Voting Rights Act)," Trump wrote on social media.

Trump had ten days from its passage - a deadline that expires today - to sign the bill, veto it or let it go into effect without his signature. He chose the latter, undermining his own administration's claims that the housing bill is a priority in the fight against inflation.

The US president's rejection of a bipartisan, tailor-made housing bill exacerbates tensions within his Republican Party in an election year and undermines the party's efforts to meet a key demand from voters, which is to address affordability issues, particularly in the area of ​​housing.

Trump's announcement today comes more than a week after he canceled a signature on the housing bill, which he had announced he would do, surprising Republican lawmakers. He conditioned his signature on the passage of a Republican law that would require every voter to prove their citizenship before casting a ballot.

The bill has no chance of being passed, as Republicans in the Senate do not have the qualified 60:40 majority to pass it. On the other hand, the housing bill received bipartisan support and passed with overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress.

The goal of the housing law is to lower housing costs and encourage housing construction. It is the most extensive federal effort in decades to address the housing affordability problem, as state and local regulations make it difficult to build housing in communities that could be a source of jobs and economic prosperity.

White House economists this year pointed to a national shortfall of 10 million homes, so the new law attempts to reduce that gap.

The law cuts federal housing rules, reduces the amount of environmental inspections, speeds up housing construction and limits the ability of corporations to buy up single-family homes.

The law does not address some of the causes of the nation's housing affordability problem, including a shortage of construction workers, rising insurance costs and wages failing to keep pace with skyrocketing rents and housing prices. Still, the bill has won support from opposition Democrats, the real estate industry and housing advocates.

Trump, however, called this law "garbage" and "so insignificant" compared to the law on tightening the conditions for exercising the right to vote in American elections.