House Republicans are resisting Trump’s push to pass the Senate housing bill, setting up a GOP standoff over affordability legislation before the midterms.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are resisting President Donald Trump’s call to quickly pass a Senate-approved housing affordability bill, unveiling a modified version that could delay one of the administration’s domestic priorities.
The standoff comes as Trump is pressing Congress for an affordability win ahead of November’s midterm elections. The Senate bill, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed in March with relatively few defectors, but it has stalled in the House for months as GOP lawmakers object to parts of the package.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said earlier this week that lawmakers were working toward a measure that could win support across both chambers and parties. “I think everybody feels like it's important, so we're just working out some nuances,” Johnson said.
Those nuances could matter. Senior House lawmakers on Thursday released their own version of the housing package, with a House vote possible as early as next week. If the House changes the Senate bill, the measure would have to return to the Senate before it could reach Trump’s desk.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has argued that the fastest path is for the House to pass the Senate’s version. “We’ve done what we can do. It's in the court of the House now,” Thune said, adding that the White House had made clear it wanted the House to take up and approve the Senate bill.
One major dispute centers on a Senate provision aimed at the build-to-rent market. The Senate language would require some developers to sell single-family homes built for renting within seven years of construction. Conservatives and industry opponents argued that the provision would amount to heavy-handed government intervention and could reduce rental supply for households priced out of buying.
The House version removes that language. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, said lawmakers need to protect free-market principles, warning that the Senate provision could make it “impossible” for some people to access housing.
But the House proposal would also weaken a ban on large institutional investors buying single-family homes, a policy priority for the Trump administration. At the same time, it preserves a Senate provision banning central bank digital currencies through 2030, though some House conservatives want that ban made permanent.
House Financial Services Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., who helped write the House package, said Thursday that the proposal is meant to expand affordable homeownership by reducing barriers to construction, modernizing HUD programs and giving banks more flexibility to invest in their communities.
Not all Senate Republicans oppose House changes. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., one of the few senators who voted against the original bill, told Fox News Digital that housing costs are ultimately driven more by local building decisions than federal legislation.
The political pressure is clear. A recent Fox News poll cited in the report found that nearly 80% of voters said housing costs were a problem for them or their family, while Democrats held an advantage over Republicans on inflation and the economy. The next test is whether House Republicans can pass their version without deepening the delay Trump is trying to avoid.
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