Lawmakers Push Back on Trump's Proposed Ban

The Wall Street Journal reports Proposed Ban on Investors in the Housing Market Hits a Wall in Congress

The White House is at loggerheads with Congress over one of President Trump's signature housing proposals, a ban on Wall Street investors buying single-family homes.

Trump officials pressured Congressional Republicans in recent weeks to include the investor ban as an amendment in either of the major housing bills currently winding through the House and the Senate, according to people familiar with the matter.

But lawmakers in both chambers have resisted adding the investor ban, which traditional free-market advocates, Wall Street executives and the home builder industry generally oppose. Any such amendment could derail the bipartisan momentum behind both housing packages that have been in the works for months.

The House is set to vote on its bill as soon as Monday, where it is expected to pass with bipartisan support. The Senate passed a similar bill last fall.

Lawmaker pushback to Trump's investor ban shows how the White House and Congress favor different approaches to addressing America's housing crisis, which sent sales last year to a 30-year low. Home values have soared by more than 50% since 2019 and are pricing out many first-time buyers.