President Donald Trump’s call for the passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act hasn’t knocked the House’s attempt to amend the Senate’s bill off track.
As we noted in our AM newsletter, House Republicans are, if anything, digging in.
We sympathize with the White House officials who continue to say that Trump wants the House to simply pass the Senate’s housing bill.
But the fact is, a broad spectrum of House Republicans aren’t playing along, from Speaker Mike Johnson down to Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who told us Tuesday night that the Senate’s bill “needs work.”
Let’s be clear. The White House owns this state of affairs.
It took nearly two months for Trump to use his bully pulpit to demand that the House pass the Senate housing bill. Senate Banking Committee leaders Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have spent weeks waiting for Trump to help jam the House with their package.
We’d also note key differences between Trump’s call for a housing bill and this 2025 post calling for the passage of crypto legislation that ended some House versus Senate intrigue over stablecoins.
Trump’s housing post simply asked for “Congress to pass” the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The president’s call for the passage of the GENIUS Act was far more specific, saying: “Get it to my desk, ASAP — NO DELAYS, NO ADD ONS.”
Inside talks. The policy focus remains the same as it has been since April. House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) continue to negotiate primarily on changes to the bill’s treatment of institutional investor prohibitions.
We caught up with Hill on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the state of those talks. The Arkansas Republican remains reserved, saying that he “would hope we can find good bicameral language… that can accomplish the goals of the president.”
We also asked Hill whether he expected any language targeting “build to rent” developments would remain in the House’s version. The Senate’s language there is starkly unpopular.
Hill said it would be “premature” to say, but he’s clearly not a fan. “A lot of members have serious concerns about the seven-year sale mandate,” the chair said.
