ICYMI: Warren, Schumer, Senate Democrats Take On Trump's Broken Promise to Address Historic Housing Costs Crisis
Democrats kick off 2026 push on housing affordability
Warren, Schumer release “Broken Promises Report”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Democrats highlighted President Trump’s empty promises and failure to lower housing costs as Americans struggle to afford their own home or pay rent as part of Senate Democrats’ 2026 push on housing affordability. Senators and housing leaders met to discuss concrete solutions policymakers could focus on to bring relief to renters and homebuyers, including continued efforts to enact the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act, which passed the Senate unanimously last fall.
“Donald Trump promised to lower costs ‘on day one.’ Specifically, he claimed he would cut ‘the cost of a new home in half.’ He has failed,” said Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren. “People across the country continue to struggle with the cost of housing.”
“As Trump focuses on military adventurism and ballrooms, Democrats are laser focused on addressing affordability,” said Leader Schumer. “Housing is key. When you own a home, it gives you hope in the future that every month, you're building equity, you're increasing your own wealth, and you’re building a future for the next generation. We have to make it easier for people to buy a home and afford that down payment. But we also have to make sure that rents stay affordable and competitive. Democrats are committed to lowering costs and addressing the epidemic of skyrocketing costs caused by Trump and Republicans.”
"I am honored to begin 2026 by joining a discussion on the impact of high housing costs on America’s lowest-income communities,” said National Low Income Housing Coalition President and CEO Renee M. Willis. "In 2025, affordable housing resources faced significant challenges, including directives from the administration to cut the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) workforce in half, proposed historic funding reductions to key programs, and unlawful restrictions on proven homelessness solutions. These attacks on affordable housing resources occurred as research showed nearly half of U.S. renter households are cost-burdened, needing to earn $33.63 per hour to afford a modest two-bedroom home at Fair Market Rent. Bipartisan measures like the 'ROAD to Housing Act' are essential for strengthening the housing safety net and reducing instability for renters with the lowest incomes. In 2026, it is vital that policymakers continue efforts to advance affordable housing policies that will close the gap between incomes and current market rents, helping families with the lowest or average incomes remain stably housed."
“Trump promised lower costs, but instead he’s slashing housing assistance and pushing tariffs that drive up construction costs while landlords and corporate developers jack up rents with abandon. Senate Democrats are treating the housing crisis like the emergency it is, with concrete plans to boost supply and lower payments while cracking down on landlords who price-gouge and builders who game the system," said Lindsay Owens, Executive Director, Groundwork Collaborative
“Whether they’re renting or buying, families across the country are struggling to afford the roof over their heads,” said Julie Margetta Morgan, president of The Century Foundation. “The rising cost of housing is pushing family budgets to the brink, and sky-high prices on everything from groceries to utilities to healthcare are tipping them over the edge. We need leaders who are focused on common-sense solutions to bring down the cost of housing and improve affordability across the board. I look forward to working with Leader Schumer and Ranking Member Warren to build an agenda that meets the urgent challenges that families are facing.”
“Affordability is worsening for working people, and the cost of housing is a key driver of this crisis,” said Allison Zelman, Chief Strategy Officer with the Roosevelt Institute. “To ensure that the housing economy serves the public interest, the government must challenge financial practices that drive up costs, reduce regulatory barriers to increase supply and lower prices, and develop solutions to ensure falling interest rates translate into refinancing access for low- and moderate-income homeowners—not just the wealthiest.”
"Americans are being crushed by housing costs and the Trump administration’s policies are making it worse," said Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress. "Families are paying more for rent, more for mortgages, and more for construction, while promises to lower costs have gone unfulfilled. The basics are unaffordable for too many, and we need leaders focused on bringing down prices by building more housing, cutting red tape, and protecting renters and homebuyers, not raising tariffs that make construction more expensive or withholding federal funding for affordable housing."
“Corporate power is driving America’s housing affordability crisis,” said Nidhi Hegde, Executive Director of the American Economic Liberties Project. “After the financial crash, Wall Street snapped up foreclosed homes and now uses algorithms to fix rents and pile on junk fees. Today’s financialized homebuilding industry caters to Wall Street investors, restricting supply and driving up prices. And Donald Trump’s schemes like 50-year mortgages and letting firms like RealPage off the hook only exacerbate the crisis. Housing should serve people, not speculators.”
"NFHA's 170+ community-based nonprofit fair housing agencies help disabled veterans secure housing, ensure families aren’t forced to live on the streets because of illegal ‘no-child’ policies, and assist Black and Latino renters gain access to housing when automated systems screen them out because of who they are. The Trump Administration is making this critically-important work more difficult through haphazard executive actions: clawing back essential grants that fuel the work of our fair housing organizations; gutting the nation's fair housing enforcement mechanism at HUD; and launching efforts to roll back foundational fair lending tools like ECOA that gave women financial independence,” said Nikitra Bailey, Executive Vice President, National Fair Housing Alliance. “Congress has long provided strong bipartisan support for fair housing and must act to counter this administration's harmful actions. It must increase oversight to ensure fully staffed and functioning HUD, CFPB, and DOJ, maintain funding for HUD's fair housing programs when considering the THUD bill, pass comprehensive supply-side and demand-side legislation with support for first-generation homebuyers and include Senator Warnock's Appraisal Modernization to ensure all people can fairly access the American Dream."
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