Trump Is Pressuring The Hill On Voter Verification — But Not His Own Housing Plan

President Donald Trump is aggressively pushing the Senate to pass voter verification legislation, speaking about it at length, posting repeatedly on social media and threatening to withhold endorsements from defectors.

But as a marquee housing bill containing one of his signature affordability proposals flounders on the Hill, he’s been virtually silent on it.

The president’s proposal to restrict institutional investors from buying homes, first outlined in a January executive order and later folded into a bipartisan housing package, faces fierce opposition from some House conservatives who argue it will dissuade corporations from making major capital investments in housing construction, ultimately reducing supply rather than expanding it.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune even requested Trump’s help muscling the Senate housing bill through the House, a call which Trump appears not to have answered. The White House has not outlined any plans to step up efforts to push the Senate bill across the finish line, other than demand the bill pass in its original form.

It stands in stark contrast to how the president has pushed his “top priority” the SAVE America Act — effectively suggesting that it is necessary to preserve American democracy — though the bill has almost no chance of becoming law.

That’s partly because the initial support for the institutional investors ban, some of the president’s allies say, was part of a throw-everything-against-the-wall approach by the White House’s political shop, which is eager to rack up wins on affordability ahead of an election where cost-of-living is top of voters’ minds. Trump even drew attention to the proposal at his State of the Union address last month and called on Congress to codify it.

Now, they’re not sure whether spending the political capital is worth the ballot box payoff.

“The political shop is feeling the pressure, and they’re grasping at any straw that comes their way,” said one person close to the White House, granted anonymity to speak candidly. But “in this particular case, Thune is right, you’re going to have to go and twist arms in the House for a bill that no one gives a shit about.”

“It’s a great talking point – and I get that part,” the person added. But “nobody is sitting around saying, ‘Finally, I can buy my first home because now institutional investors can’t buy up homes.’ That’s not what the barrier to entry is.”

While the White House demands the House pass the Senate bill as-is, Trump has not publicly said as much. Some GOP lawmakers are pushing for bicameral conference negotiations on the housing bills to iron out policy differences they have but that could require both chambers to vote on the measure again.

Given the GOP’s slim majorities, rising oil prices and weakening jobs numbers, some Trump allies, however, insist the White House needs the win to run on this fall.

"For the president to try to make home ownership more realistic for a lot of people — and at the same time make cheaper rental homes available — would be very helpful for the November elections,” said Trump pollster John McLaughlin. “Even just that he’s seen trying is different from what younger voters have seen in the past few years.”

"This is a good issue to build the coalition, to broaden it, and to attract new voters,” he added.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle disputed the idea that the president isn’t focused on housing.

The SAVE Act is Trump’s top priority but he has also “been laser-focused on making housing more affordable,” Ingle said, pointing to recent housing executive orders.

“The 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. At the same time, President Trump has made clear publicly that passing the SAVE America Act is Congress's most urgent priority right now to strengthen election integrity and protect our democracy,” Ingle said.

The SAVE America Act, which in addition to requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, would require voter identification at the polls, restrict gender-affirming surgeries for minors and bar transgender women from playing in women’s sports.

The Senate on Tuesday voted to start debate on the House-passed SAVE America Act but the legislation as of now doesn’t have the votes to pass in the upper chamber. Thune is under pressure from the GOP right flank to eliminate the filibuster to get the election overhaul passed, but that strategy also doesn’t have the votes.

In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump called on Republicans and Democrats to vote “yes” on the SAVE Act, adding, “I WILL NEVER (EVER!) ENDORSE ANYONE WHO VOTES AGAINST “SAVE AMERICA!!!”

Trump, meanwhile, is advancing other policies to address housing affordability, as housing experts point to interest rates, limited supply and construction costs as the primary barriers to entry to first-time buyers.

On Friday, he signed a pair of executive orders designed to cut red tape to make it easier for builders to construct homes and community banks to finance them. In January, Trump directed government-controlled mortgage finance agencies to purchase billions in securities to lower mortgage rates. He also last fall floated, and ultimately backed off, a proposal for a 50-year mortgage.

“Under the Trump administration, we want to make it possible for every American to live that American dream in a beautiful home,” Trump said, in a video accompanying the orders’ announcement on Friday.

But a big bipartisan win on housing, for now, remains out of reach, and the interchamber dispute over the housing legislation is likely only solved by Trump. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said on Thursday, “I’m hoping he does weigh in with the House members to get this accomplished so he can sign it quickly into law.”

Tobias Peter, co-director of the American Enterprise Institute's Housing Center, said that White officials are continuing to push the Senate version of the housing legislation behind the scenes.

“They're desperate to do something,” Peter said, of the White House, “and the same in the Senate. They’re just desperate to pass something.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) insisted Trump can get the housing bill passed in the House.

“I'm sure he’ll do it,” he said. “He’s got a lot of magic when it comes to the House.”