Congress passed a four-year ban on a Federal Reserve digital dollar, clearing both chambers with veto-proof margins — then the White House canceled the signing ceremony.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed the Senate 85–5 on June 22 and the House 358–32 on June 24, embedding a provision that bars the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail central bank digital currency, directly or through any intermediary, through December 31, 2030. Both margins are veto-proof. The Federal Reserve had already withdrawn its CBDC supervisory guidance in April 2025 and carries no active retail CBDC program, meaning the legislation codifies an existing policy absence rather than reversing a planned launch. President Trump canceled the White House signing ceremony roughly an hour before its scheduled start, posting on Truth Social that he would not sign until Congress separately passes the SAVE America Act — a voter-ID bill the Senate has already rejected twice. Under the Constitution, a bill presented to the president becomes law automatically after 10 days if he neither signs nor vetoes it, provided Congress remains in session; with August recess still weeks away, the CBDC ban appears headed for enactment without a ceremony.
The veto-proof record in both chambers and the 10-day auto-enactment provision mean the prohibition is on track to become the first statutory federal bar against a government-issued U.S. digital currency — a legislative baseline that any future administration seeking to issue a CBDC would need to overturn by act of Congress.
