Trump cancels signing of bipartisan US housing bill

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday canceled a planned signing of bipartisan legislation aimed at speeding up ​the construction and availability of more affordable housing.

"Today’s Housing ‌News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be ​a National Emergency," Trump said in a post on Truth ​Social.

The bill was passed by the U.S. House of ⁠Representatives on Tuesday in a 358-32 vote, after being passed ​by the Senate on Monday by a vote of 85-5. Passage ​of such major legislation in the deeply divided Congress has been rare.

The move comes as the high cost of living in the U.S., with the ​inflation rate rising significantly during Trump's second term in office, ​is ranked as a top worry by voters in public opinion polls.

Among the ‌main ⁠provisions of the bill are waiving or speeding up environmental reviews for home construction projects and placing a cap on the number of already constructed single-family homes that big Wall Street investors ​can own.

There is ​an estimated shortage ⁠of millions of affordable homes in the United States, according to housing industry groups.

The combination of ​high mortgage rates, rising home prices and supply ​chain problems ⁠over the past several years has contributed to consumers' difficulties.

According to a survey released on Tuesday, a have said, ⁠for ​the first time since 2023, that they ​would prefer to buy a home rather than rent or move in with family ​members.

-Reuters