WASHINGTON — After years of gridlock and sharp partisan divides, Congress this month enacted the most significant housing legislation in three decades, overcoming internal party skepticism, Republican infighting, and a lukewarm response from President Donald Trump.
The measure, known as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, was pushed forward through an unlikely bipartisan alliance between Senator Elizabeth Warren, a progressive Democrat from Massachusetts, and Senator Tim Scott, a conservative Republican from South Carolina and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. The legislation aims to address the nationwide housing affordability crisis by increasing supply, easing federal regulations, facilitating financing, and updating federal housing programs.
Despite early doubts from fellow Democrats, who assumed cooperation with Republicans on such a sweeping bill was unattainable, Warren and Scott’s collaboration overcame several challenges. The two senators developed their partnership through informal discussions during committee meetings, forging mutual respect and shared goals despite ideological differences.
Their strategy to expedite the bill involved attaching it to the annual defense policy legislation, widely regarded as essential and likely to pass. However, this move ignited tensions within the Republican caucus, with House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill expressing concern over the Senate moving forward without House input. The House subsequently stripped the housing provisions from the defense bill, resulting in a significant setback.
The housing issue gained renewed momentum in January when President Trump, through a social media post, expressed intentions to limit institutional investors’ roles in the single-family housing market—an area of bipartisan concern, especially in overheated markets like Atlanta and Charlotte. Warren seized the opportunity to advance a Democratic-led proposal and quickly rallied support for an early introduction ahead of the State of the Union address. The White House then entered negotiations directly with Scott and Warren.
While the House passed a narrower bill with strong bipartisan backing in February, the Senate approved a more expansive version in March, incorporating stricter regulations targeting private equity investors. This led to a legislative stalemate, with House Republicans objecting to provisions limiting single-family rental homes and demanding revisions. Repeated rounds of revisions and negotiations followed into May, culminating in a compromise brokered by Warren, House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, and Scott that eased restrictions on build-to-rent properties while capping the number of such homes investors could own at 350.
The final legislation, comprising over 50 provisions, aimed broadly to increase housing supply and address affordability, a pressing issue affecting both traditionally Democratic cities and increasingly strained conservative states.
On June 23, the House granted final approval, and plans for a signing ceremony the next day were abruptly upended when President Trump announced via social media he would not endorse the bill, disparaging it and singling out Warren by a derisive nickname. Despite the president’s refusal to sign, congressional leaders met with him, warning that they had sufficient votes to override a veto.
Ultimately, Trump allowed the legislation to become law without his signature when congressional adjournment elapsed, and it took effect automatically on July 11.
Both House and Senate lawmakers expressed mixed feelings about the president’s stance. Hill noted the unexpected twists but acknowledged the bill’s passage as a legislative achievement, while Warren voiced disappointment over Trump’s refusal to formally endorse the bill but reaffirmed commitment to building on this progress.
Following the bill’s enactment, Warren called on her colleagues to begin preparing for a follow-up initiative, signaling continued efforts to confront the nation’s housing challenges.