President Donald Trump said a bipartisan housing bill he has refused to sign was "fine," seeming to suggest it could become law even as he has withheld his signature in a bid to secure a voter identification law he sees as a bigger priority.
"The housing bill is fine. There's a lot of Democrat points in there that I don't even think are good, but it's fine," Trump said Thursday in a CNBC interview. "But I've made the case I'd rather not sign anything until we sign the Save America Act."
Trump abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for the housing bill last week, withholding his approval to raise pressure on Senate Republicans to change their chamber's rules and approve a separate voter identification measure.
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Even though the president has not committed to signing the measure, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent it to the White House on June 29. Trump has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to either sign or veto the bill. If he does neither, it will become law after that 10-day period.
Trump in the CNBC interview did not directly say what course he would take.
Scrapping the signing denied lawmakers in both parties and Trump himself the chance to highlight major legislation that seeks to address voters' concerns about high costs of living. Those economic concerns are the dominant issue before the November midterm elections in which Trump's Republican Party faces an uphill battle to retain control of Congress.
Earlier this year, Trump signed two executive orders to ease regulations in a bid to increase the US supply of homes — one which aims to bolster access to mortgage credit and another that targets environmental rules to speed up development.
Trump has struggled to convince voters that his administration is addressing high costs for housing, utilities, health care and groceries — and rival Democrats have been winning key elections by focusing on affordability. The Iran war exacerbated voters' poor perceptions of the economy, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz spiking oil and gas prices.
Asked about the housing bill on Monday, Trump dismissed the legislation as "so unimportant" compared to the voter identification bill. Trump has for months pressed lawmakers to approve the Save America Act, which would create strict ID requirements for voters. GOP leaders have said they lack the support to approve that measure or any rule changes.
