(SeaPRwire) –
By: Gavin Thorne
The 358-32 House vote for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act looked like a rare bipartisan win. Most coverage frames the nay votes as performative loyalty to Trump’s demand for the SAVE America Act first. That’s only half the story. This small bloc of hardline Republicans didn’t just tank a signing ceremony for a voting bill. They used a widely popular housing package as leverage to push a fringe, long-running policy priority most voters have never heard of.
The Senate passed the bill one day before the House vote, with only five Republican no votes. All 32 House nays came from Republicans. Florida leads with six opposing members, Texas follows with five. The bill has more than 50 provisions. It would boost housing supply, cut costs for renters and buyers, and limit institutional investor purchases of single-family homes. It’s set to be the largest federal housing package passed in decades.
Trump announced he canceled the bill’s signing ceremony on Wednesday via Truth Social. He says he will not sign any bills until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, his proposed restrictive voting legislation. The White House previously supported the housing bill. The legislation can still become law without Trump’s signature, and he has not threatened a veto. Twelve of the 32 no votes immediately echoed Trump’s demand for the SAVE Act on social media after the vote.
The bigger, underreported driver of the no votes is the CBDC ban included in the bill. Twenty-one of the 32 opposing Republicans signed a March letter to congressional leadership demanding a permanent ban on Federal Reserve-issued central bank digital currency. The current bill only includes a temporary CBDC ban that sunsets at the end of 2030. The letter calls CBDCs “inherently anti-American” and says they would enable unconstitutional financial surveillance of ordinary citizens.
This bloc has other grievances with the bill that align with key donor interests. Rep. Scott Perry called the bill’s rent and pricing control policies “downright socialist, if not outright communist.” House Freedom Caucus chair Andy Harris opposes the bill’s expanded federal role in housing policy. Three members, including Aaron Bean and Randy Fine, oppose the bill’s limits on institutional investor home purchases, a policy strongly opposed by real estate investment lobbying groups. Some members already pledged to block all bills until the SAVE Act passes, months before this vote.
The temporary CBDC ban will be extended to a permanent ban before the 2030 sunset date, attached to must-pass legislation as a concession to this hardline House faction.
Author bio: Gavin Thorne, an investigative journalist tracking special interests and legislative affairs based in Washington, D.C.