In a sit-down interview with USA TODAY, the House speaker said President Trump has no intention of committing to signing the housing bill. But Mike Johnson was confident that the president’s veto would not be triggered.
Mike Johnson interviews the Iran war and President Trump’s housing bill
White House correspondent Francesca Chambers interviews House Speaker Mike Johnson about the Iran war, housing legislation, and America’s 250th anniversary.
WASHINGTON – The landmark housing bill approved by Congress last week will become law with or without President Donald Trump’s signature, House Speaker Mike Johnson said.
Johnson told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview on Capitol Hill that the president will either allow the bipartisan bill, which passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate, to go into effect, or he will sign it into law.
During a two-hour Oval Office meeting on Monday, June 29, Johnson said he once again urged the president to sign legislation aimed at making housing more affordable.
“He said he would think about it and we’ll talk about it again this week,” Johnson said.
Either way, Johnson insisted the bill would pass. “He will not veto this bill. We already know that. He will either allow it to pass or he will sign it and take partial ownership. I hope he does the latter.”
Earlier in the day, President Trump called the bill a “big yawn” and characterized it as “less important” than the Republican bill, the SAVE America Act, which would require prospective voters to provide proof of citizenship to register and a photo ID to vote. The president abruptly canceled the signing ceremony for the housing bill last week, blocking its immediate passage into law.
President Trump has said he will not support the housing bill until the Senate passes the Republican-backed ballot measure, which has not received the support it needs.
The housing bill, officially called the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, could become law if President Trump does not sign or veto it within 10 days, excluding Sunday. Prime Minister Johnson said over the weekend that the bill would be formally introduced to the White House on June 29, officially starting the clock.
“As you know, the president has 10 days to make that decision. The point he was trying to make is that the American Rescue Act is his top priority and it’s my priority. But I said, ‘Mr. President, we can walk and chew gum at the same time,'” Johnson told USA TODAY on Monday night. “The housing bill has a lot of great policies and a lot of important things that he and I promised voters.”
Johnson: SAVE America Act is Republican’s ‘top priority’
Last week was a busy week for the Speaker.
After the president took a tough stance on Republican leadership by holding the housing bill hostage, conservative hardliners in the House followed suit. A group of Republican lawmakers took over the Congressional calendar and held off on voting until Johnson found a viable path forward for the SAVE America Act.
The Republican-run House has already passed multiple voting reform legislation. In the Senate, it faces opposition from moderate senators such as Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.
Amid the revolt in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Johnson struggled to gain enough support to pass the bill and canceled unrelated votes. The intra-party fight is fueling new fears from moderate Republicans in Congress about how much the party can accomplish before the midterm elections, when Congress is scheduled to go into an extended recess at the end of next month.
Despite the logistical confusion, Johnson told USA TODAY he understands the political point the president and his party’s conservative wing are trying to make. But he said the housing bill would move the country closer to the president’s affordable housing goals.
“I said, ‘You should get as big a black marker as you can and write a giant Trump sign on it, because there’s a lot to be proud of,'” Johnson said.
Johnson also told reporters on Capitol Hill that he plans to satisfy President Trump by combining the SAVE America Act with an annual defense policy bill that must be passed. But that maneuver could doom the defense bill that authorizes major national security programs.
Johnson’s confusion remains unsatisfying among far-right Republicans in his own party, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who is leading the House effort to pass the American Rescue Act.
“I’m not trying to be difficult, but this is what 80% of Americans want and this is what we promised the American people,” she told X on Monday.
