In a bizarre turn of events this morning, Donald Trump refused to show up and sign bi-partisan legislation that passed both chambers which would have increased the number of housing starts, lowered barriers to home-ownership, and restricted the ability of private equity firms to buy up single family homes in our neighborhoods.
What’s hilarious is that the Republicans were staging a press conference with the theme of “see, we do care about affordability” when word came down via Truth Social that Trump wouldn’t show up for the signing,
Unless ….. (wait for it)
The SAVE Act is passed by the Senate.
What is the SAVE Act? It’s the one that eliminates mail-in voting, mandates each state to turn over its voter rolls to the federal government, requires each citizen to show up to register (re-register) to vote with proof of citizenship such as a birth certificate, marriage certificate, name change documents or a passport. The only mechanism to vote would be in person with a government-issued photo i.d. The financial burden of all of this would fall onto the states.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed it (of course) but the U.S. Senate can’t get around the filibuster, hence Trump’s pique at Republican Senators who refuse to end the filibuster.
Now, let’s get back to the housing issue.
Last year, the Nevada Legislature passed a slew of bills which would have protected homeowners and renters. Republican governor Joe Lombardo vetoed them. One of the vetoes in the previous session protected private equity firms’ ability to buy up single family homes in Nevada neighborhoods and turn them into rental properties. This action, highly prevalent in certain neighborhoods, turns single family homes into rental units and drives up housing prices, thus acing out the average home buyer. In 2025, Lombardo successfully blocked it – killing it twice.
See a pattern here?
Our MAGA Republican president. Our MAGA Republican governor. Do you really think they care about affordability and the ever-increasing cost of housing?
Nope.
But they do care about the money-ed class. We have the proof.