'He doesn't care about you': Senator Kelly slams President Trump over housing bill

Backlash against Donald Trump's refusal to sign the housing bill has invited immense backlash, with Democratic Senator Mark Kelly accusing President Donald Trump of not caring about anyone apart from his "billionaire buddies." The bipartisan bill, dubbed the '21st Century ROAD to Housing Act', passed in both houses of Congress, aimed at easing the cost of housing for Americans. However, President Trump refused to sign the bill into law until the SAVE America Act was passed.

"Donald Trump blew up this major bill that was going to lower your housing costs," Kelly said in a video posted on X. "The President decided that he is going to block this over something that has nothing to do with housing. And he's fine letting housing stay unaffordable because he doesn't really care about you. He doesn't care about your family. He doesn't care about whether you can afford a place to live. And he doesn't seem to realize what Americans are going through right now."

In an interview, the Arizona Senator said that people in his state and across the country are struggling to afford their cost of living, which includes the cost of housing and rent. Kelly said that the President, instead, wanted to first see an election legislature passed, which would have made it harder for people in Arizona to vote. "He doesn't care about this affordability crisis that the American people are going through, that we are trying to address. He just cares about his priorities. And his priority, right now, is to make it harder for the American people to participate in our democracy," Kelly said.

According to a Washington Post report, a poll in April found that the cost of housing was the second-biggest concern among Americans when it came to financial problems, behind the cost of energy and gas. Being able to afford a house is a lot tougher, especially for young Americans, as prices of homes surge and mortgage rates remain high. The bill, which would have blocked institutional investors from buying more than 350 single-family homes, might not have done much, as institutional investors owned a small proportion of housing stock.

However, Will Fischer of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said that the bill was an important first step towards affordable housing. However, that step won't be taken unless the bill becomes a law. President Trump has 10 days (except Sundays) to either sign or veto the bill before it automatically becomes law. When asked if he would veto the bill, he said that housing would become affordable if interest rates dropped.

"Lower the interest rates, and you can have all the housing you want," he said. "You have to understand, I don't want to hurt people who own houses either. These people, for the first time in their lives, have valuable houses. They become rich. I don't want to hurt them either." On the day he cancelled the signing, Trump met with Republican Senators to speak about a number of issues, one of which was the housing bill.