The cancellation came hours before Trump was expected to appear at the US Capitol for a signing ceremony. It surprised lawmakers after the housing measure cleared the Senate 85-5 on Monday and the House 358-32 on Tuesday.
Those margins exceeded the two-thirds threshold needed to override a presidential veto, although it is unclear whether Republicans would maintain that level of support if forced to vote against Trump.
Trump delays a statutory CBDC Ban
The ROAD to Housing Act is primarily intended to increase the supply of homes, reduce regulatory barriers to construction, and expand access to housing finance. Its final section also includes an unrelated restriction on the Federal Reserve’s ability to issue a digital dollar.
The provision would prevent the Fed from issuing or creating a CBDC, directly or through a financial intermediary, until Dec. 31, 2030. It also states that the central bank cannot issue a substantially similar digital asset without authorization from Congress.
A CBDC would be a digital liability of the Federal Reserve made available to the public. It would differ from privately issued stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT or Circle’s USDC, which are issued by companies and generally backed by cash, Treasury securities, and other reserve assets.
The prohibition is written around central bank-issued money and would not ban private stablecoins or other open, permissionless dollar-denominated digital assets that preserve protections similar to those associated with physical currency.
The Federal Reserve has not decided to create a CBDC. It has said it would proceed only with authorization from Congress and the executive branch.
Still, the possibility has drawn sustained opposition from Republican lawmakers and digital asset groups that argue a government-issued currency could provide authorities with greater visibility into private transactions.
Trump acted on those concerns shortly after returning to office. His January 2025 executive order barred federal agencies from taking action to establish, issue, or promote a CBDC and instructed them to end initiatives related to creating one.
The order did not ban every form of technical or academic research involving digital currencies. It instead stopped federal agencies from pursuing a US CBDC as a policy project.
Because a future president could rescind or revise Trump’s order, crypto advocates have pushed for Congress to place the prohibition in federal law. The housing bill would make the restriction more durable, though it would remain temporary and expire at the end of 2030.
Trump’s refusal to sign the package, therefore, delays a legislative extension of a policy he already supports.
White House reverses its own messaging
The cancellation also undercut the White House’s promotion of the housing measure.
Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the expected signing as another example of Trump keeping a campaign promise. She said the bill would help lower housing costs and make homeownership more attainable.
Trump later minimized the measure, calling it an issue of “minor importance” compared with lower interest rates and other congressional priorities. He also criticized the involvement of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat who helped negotiate the legislation as the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee.Lawmakers from both parties have promoted the package as one of the most substantial federal housing efforts in decades.
Following Trump's decision, Democrats criticized him for tying those provisions to an unrelated election dispute, with Warren insisting that “we will get this bill passed.”
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said Trump had changed course while preparing to sign one of the most important bipartisan housing measures in years, leaving Americans without relief from rising rents and mortgage costs.
The president’s decision also frustrated some Republicans who had worked with Democrats and the administration to negotiate the package.
Before the cancellation, House leaders had presented its passa