Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) harshly criticized House Republicans on Wednesday for stripping a bipartisan housing affordability measure from a must-pass defense bill, contrasting their inaction on living costs with President Donald Trump's construction of a new “golden ballroom” at the White House for “corporate donors.”
Bipartisan Bill Blocked
According to realtor.com, House Republicans removed the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week.
House leadership opted instead to pursue a stand-alone bill next year that better reflects their own preferences, throwing the immediate future of the reform effort into doubt.
The legislation, co-sponsored by Warren and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), was designed to tackle the nation’s housing affordability crisis by increasing supply and reducing regulatory roadblocks.
It had previously passed the Senate Banking Committee in a unanimous 24-0 vote. Realtor.com reported that Senator Scott urged his House colleagues to pass the measure, stating, “Families across the country are being crushed by soaring housing costs, and Washington cannot continue to sit on the sidelines.”
See Also: ‘No One’s Buying Homes Here’: Cramer Warns On This Housing Stock
‘Misplaced Priorities’
Taking to X, Senator Warren framed the legislative maneuver as evidence of the GOP’s “misplaced priorities.” She juxtaposed the stalled aid for struggling families against reports of luxury renovations occurring at the executive mansion under the Trump administration.
“While Trump builds a golden ballroom for his corporate donors, Republicans won’t build more housing to lower costs for you,” Warren wrote.
In a follow-up post on the platform, she listed “demolishing the East Wing for a ballroom” and putting “gold leaf all over the Oval Office” as among Trump’s top priorities, noting the significant “exclusion” of lowering costs for necessities like housing, health care, or groceries.
The 2026 Ultimatum
Warren issued a direct political threat regarding the stalled legislation ahead of the upcoming midterm election year.
“If House Republicans continue to block legislation to cut housing costs in 2026, then Democrats will pass it ourselves when we take back Congress,” she said in a statement cited by realtor.com.
Here’s a list of real estate exchange-traded funds that investors could consider amid the current U.S. housing situation.
| ETFs | YTD Performance | One Year Performance |
| SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE:XHB) | 4.27% | -7.97% |
| Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF (NYSE:VNQ) | 1.00% | -5.41% |
| Schwab US REIT ETF (NYSE:SCHH) | -0.05% | -5.10% |
| Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) | 0.72% | 0.72% |
| iShares US Real Estate ETF (NYSE:IYR) | 2.41% | -3.77% |
| iShares Core US REIT ETF (NYSE:USRT) | 1.00% | -4.35% |
| DFA Dimensional Global Real Estate ETF (NYSE:DFGR) | 5.47% | -1.29% |
| SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (NYSE:RWR) | 1.16% | -4.75% |
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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