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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s skepticism of bipartisan housing policy put him briefly at odds with the White House on one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities.
Bessent told House Republicans in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that Republicans should “take the lead” to “pass our own housing affordability” legislation so they “don’t let the Democrats like Senator [Elizabeth] Warren get ahold of this issue,” people familiar with the exchange told Semafor.
He had relayed concerns outside of the meeting over the Senate’s bipartisan approach to boxing out institutional investors, including its requirement investors sell any rental housing they build to individuals within seven years, other people familiar with those talks said.
The White House had endorsed that approach Monday. Shortly after Semafor broke the news, Bessent called for the Senate to pass its bill and “for the House to swiftly send it” to Trump’s desk.
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Bessent, who was addressing members of the Republican Study Committee on Wednesday, also reiterated why policymakers should rein in institutional investors, Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., told Semafor: “He’s been very adamant about the institutional investor language being part of a housing package.”
“He more or less challenged us, like, ‘Hey, we’re in the majority, we should be the one leading on this issue,’” Stutzman said later. “And I think he was really clear about that.”
The housing industry has also pushed back on the so-called build-to-rent provision in the Senate’s bill. National Multifamily Housing Council President Sharon Wilson Géno said it would ensure “the whole financing structure falls apart.”
“We’re really working very hard at educating,” Wilson Géno told Semafor. “There’s a perception that somehow this is going to allow for people to have more access to more homes; it’s just not true. People just aren’t going to build these homes.”
The Senate on Wednesday advanced its legislation in an overwhelming bipartisan vote. Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., earlier this week resisted the idea that Warren’s involvement has jeopardized GOP priorities.
“Anyone who suggests that this is a left-leaning bill is not just wrong, but dead wrong,” Scott told reporters Tuesday. “Anyone who thinks that President Trump has somehow caved into the demands of Elizabeth Warren — they’re just on a different planet, I don’t care who they are.”
The House last week put plans to mark up an institutional investors proposal on ice while the Senate advanced its version. House Financial Services Chair French Hill, R-Ark., said at a Milken Institute event this week that “generally speaking, members can find a landing spot on that topic, but … we really just need to wait and see how that passes muster in the Senate before we pass judgement on the final language.”
“I think the better focus would be: Come up with a definition of what an institutional investor is, and then we can work from there,” Stutzman said.