Dwain Northey (Gen X)

The irony is almost too rich to make up.

For once—just once—Washington managed to do something that looked vaguely like governing. Democrats and Republicans sat in the same room, argued, negotiated, compromised, and eventually produced a housing bill aimed at addressing one of the biggest economic problems facing ordinary Americans: the fact that home ownership has become increasingly out of reach. The legislation passed the Senate 85-5 and the House 358-32, margins so overwhelming that they qualify as the political equivalent of a standing ovation. It included measures designed to increase housing supply and limit the ability of large institutional investors to gobble up single-family homes like they were collecting Monopoly properties.  

Think about that for a moment.

Republicans voted for it.

Democrats voted for it.

Housing advocates supported it.

Builders supported it.

Even many people in the real estate industry supported it.

In an era when Congress can barely agree that the sky is blue and water is wet, lawmakers actually found common ground on an issue that affects millions of Americans.  

And then along came Donald Trump.

Instead of signing the bill, he decided to hold it hostage until Congress passes his voting legislation, the SAVE America Act. He canceled the signing ceremony and declared that housing was of only “minor importance” compared to his election-related priorities.  

Of course housing is of minor importance to Donald Trump.

This is a man who has never worried about making rent.

He has never had to wonder whether the landlord was going to raise the rent another $300 a month.

He has never had to choose between a mortgage payment and groceries.

He has never had to watch a private equity firm buy up houses in a neighborhood and turn what used to be starter homes into investment vehicles.

Housing insecurity is an abstract concept when you’ve spent your entire life surrounded by wealth, privilege, and gold-plated excess. To millions of Americans, however, it is not abstract. It is the difference between stability and chaos.

What makes this situation even more absurd is that the housing bill and the voting bill have absolutely nothing to do with one another. One addresses affordability and home ownership. The other addresses election laws. Yet Trump is treating legislation like a spoiled child treats toys on a playground: “Nobody gets to play with this one until I get what I want.”

That’s not leadership. That’s a tantrum.

The truly remarkable part of this story is that Congress actually did its job. For a brief moment, elected officials looked at a real problem affecting real people and attempted to solve it. They recognized that corporations purchasing thousands of single-family homes has distorted housing markets and made it harder for families to buy homes of their own. They recognized that increasing supply and reducing barriers to construction could help ease the affordability crisis. They recognized that ordinary Americans are tired of being priced out of the American Dream.  

And now the entire accomplishment is being overshadowed because one man wants to use it as leverage for an unrelated political objective.

The lesson here is simple. When government actually works, when compromise actually happens, when Republicans and Democrats actually come together to address a problem hurting millions of people, it should be celebrated. Instead, we are once again watching everything grind to a halt because Donald Trump cannot resist making every issue about himself and his personal political agenda.

Housing affordability is not a partisan issue.

People need places to live regardless of whether they vote Republican, Democrat, Independent, or don’t vote at all.

But apparently helping Americans find affordable housing can wait while Donald Trump stomps his feet demanding that Congress give him something else first.

And somehow we’re supposed to believe he’s the one putting America first.