{"id":1891,"date":"2026-05-07T17:02:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1891"},"modified":"2026-05-07T17:02:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:02:41","slug":"why-trumps-affordability-push-is-stalling-ahead-of-midterm-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1891","title":{"rendered":"Why Trump\u2019s affordability push is stalling ahead of midterm elections"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Katy O\u2019Donnell and Courtney Subramanian<\/strong> | Bloomberg<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s fitful campaign to address US voters\u2019 affordability concerns ahead of the midterm elections is faltering, with some key efforts stalled, cast aside or limited in scope.<\/p>\n

Read more Alaska wildlife agents can kill bears from helicopters in an effort to protect caribou, judge says<\/a><\/p>\n

The biggest piece of housing legislation in a generation has languished on Capitol Hill because of lawmakers\u2019 objections to a provision negotiated by the White House. President Donald Trump has stopped touting a proposed 10% cap on credit-card interest rates, after backlash from banks and skepticism from economists.<\/p>\n

And two executive orders, one aimed at easing access to mortgage credit and another that seeks to streamline regulations for builders, are not yet fully implemented and experts say they would only help marginally.<\/p>\n

Also see:<\/strong>\u00a0What\u2019s next for California home prices? Watch the job market<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, the war in Iran has driven up gas prices and sent a chill through the spring housing market. It has also drowned out the administration\u2019s set-piece events meant to highlight larger tax refunds and measures to lower drug prices.<\/p>\n

Some Republicans are also frustrated with the administration\u2019s scattershot messaging, particularly around last year\u2019s signature tax law, according to a GOP operative who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. That measure contained a provision to boost affordable housing alongside a series of tax cuts.<\/p>\n

Voters have taken notice: Consumer sentiment fell last month to its lowest level on record dating back to 1978. And with less than six months until Election Day, Trump\u2019s approval rating has touched new lows.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Also see:<\/strong>\u00a0Two California home insurers to raise rates, expand coverage by late 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

If the White House doesn\u2019t reverse that trend, it will put Republicans at greater risk of losing control of Congress \u2014 an outcome that would stymie the president\u2019s agenda during the final two years of his term.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe politics are really, really tough for Republicans on the affordability issue now,\u201d said Ryan Bourne, an economic scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute.<\/p>\n

Just 23% of US adults approve of how Trump is handling the cost of living, compared with 76% who disapprove, according to an AP-NORC survey conducted in mid-April.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Still, the White House insists its economic agenda is on track.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the President has been clear about short-term disruptions as a result of Operation Epic Fury, the Administration is focused on the proven Trump agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and energy abundance to keep America on a solid economic trajectory,\u201d said White House spokesman Kush Desai.<\/p>\n

Housing, credit pushback<\/h4>\n

The Senate passed a housing package in March that includes an idea the president trumpeted in January: a restriction on institutional investors buying single-family homes.<\/p>\n

But a detail of that Trump-backed proposal has tripped up the bill in the House. It requires investors to sell build-to-rent homes after seven years, which critics say would stunt construction of new rental units.<\/p>\n

Politico reported this week that Trump has soured on that rule. A White House official pointed to the administration\u2019s statement of support for the housing bill when asked about the report.<\/p>\n

Also see:<\/strong>\u00a0Affordability rises for California homebuyers but gaps remain for Blacks, Hispanics<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe President will not stop fighting until the American Dream of homeownership is within reach for every American, which is why he continues to sign bold new executive orders and calls on Congress to pass further legislation,\u201d said White House spokesman Davis Ingle.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s hardly the only measure that\u2019s gotten a cold reception outside the White House. The credit-card interest rate cap was panned by the finance industry, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon arguing it would spell \u201ceconomic disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such a cap would require an act of Congress, and plenty of Republicans are leery of supporting it. House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed it as an \u201cout-of-the-box\u201d idea that could result in \u201cnegative secondary effects.\u201d Trump ally Stephen Moore warned in a report published last week that the measure would restrict consumer credit and could even risk a recession.<\/p>\n

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, last week pressed financial regulators on having \u201cdone nothing\u201d to lower credit-card interest rates, which currently hover around 21% on average, according to the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n

Even as it has gone quiet on the credit-card proposal, the White House is looking for other ways to address consumer costs. In addition to the housing executive orders, it continues to negotiate with drugmakers for lower prices, according to another White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss future announcements. There are plans in the works aimed at bringing down costs of some grocery items, the official said.<\/p>\n

In what was billed as a \u201cmajor housing announcement,\u201d administration officials last month updated reporters on an effort to incorporate new credit-score models into the housing finance system.<\/p>\n

Those changes won\u2019t translate to significant savings for consumers, according to Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the right-leaning American Action Forum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of credit scores as a part of the purchase price of the house is nothing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One attempt to make housing more affordable had a brief impact, only for the war in Iran to reverse any relief.<\/p>\n

The announcement that government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds briefly spurred mortgage interest rates to fall below 6% for the first time since 2022. Then the conflict began, causing rates to rise to 6.46% in a matter of weeks. The interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage loan is currently 6.3%, according to Freddie Mac data.<\/p>\n

Long-simmering challenges<\/h4>\n

One challenge for Trump, Bourne said, is that it\u2019s difficult for any president to quickly move the needle on pocketbook issues, because the factors that shape them are so complex. Some steps Trump could take would require congressional action or removing the tariffs that are the foundation of his economic agenda, Bourne added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why he\u2019s left scrambling around, putting out executive orders and rule changes, because he wants to show that he recognizes the degree of dissatisfaction with the issue,\u201d Bourne said. \u201cBut the truth is, there\u2019s not actually a ton he can directly do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump himself has shown hints of exasperation that voters aren\u2019t giving his party more credit on cost-of-living initiatives \u2014 including at an April event at the White House highlighting a drug-pricing deal with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the biggest price reduction in drugs in history,\u201d Trump said. \u201cBy itself, we should win the midterms, but it doesn\u2019t work that way, unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more CIF State girls basketball: Previews of the finals for Laguna Hills, El Dorado<\/a><\/p>\n

Gregory Korte at Bloomberg contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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