Democrats are reportedly seeking to weaponize the housing affordability crisis against President Donald Trump in the 2026 midterms.
But Vice President JD Vance corrected them with simple economics and the concept of supply and demand.
“We’ve got to get our blue states to build enough houses for their citizens, because the red states and the federal government are actually doing a really good job,” Vance said in a televised interview last week.
“By the way,” he said, “you know one of the biggest cities where you’re seeing house costs come down? Austin, Texas, because they choose smart policies and they’re building enough housing.”
The left created the very conditions they are trying to weaponize against the administration – in blue cities and states – according to Vance.
“A lot of young people are saying housing is way too expensive,” Vance said. “Why is that?
“Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who were taking houses that ought, by right, go to American citizens.”
Still, Democrats are undaunted by that reality and The Washington Post reported Democrats’ allied policy groups are preparing to make housing affordability a central line of attack on Trump’s economy heading into 2026.
The Center for American Progress, a leading liberal think tank, unveiled a sweeping plan Monday to aggressively expand home construction, penalize localities that resist zoning reform, and send cash directly to renters, according to the report.
The strategy marks Democrats’ second major effort to frame housing as a defining national issue. They tried in 2024 under then-Vice President Kamala Harris, but the push fizzled after her election defeat.
Now, with interest rates still elevated nearly a year into Trump’s second term, Democrats believe they have a potent political opening.
“There is a stark recognition in the electorate right now that there’s not enough housing options,” Henry Honorof of the Welcoming Neighbors Network told the Post, arguing voters are increasingly punishing politicians who block development.
The CAP plan outlines a massive federal intervention: three-year affordability contracts with high-cost cities that agree to build more homes, overhaul zoning rules, and expand financing.
Renters in compliant areas could receive up to $1,000 per year in direct payments.
Noncompliant localities would lose access to federal development funding.
“The problem is well understood,” said Jared Bernstein, former President Joe Biden economic adviser and lead author of the paper. “What I’m more interested in is what you’re going to do about it.”
Republicans argue Democrats are ignoring their own role in creating the shortage — from anti-development NIMBY (no in my back yard) policies to decades of lax immigration enforcement that increased demand without increasing supply.
Democrats counter that their plans would close a national gap of 2 million homes by 2030 and lower rents in major Democrat-run cities like Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
They also want to expand manufactured housing, shield renters from “junk fees,” and obstruct Trump’s tariffs on building materials.
The housing fight is also wrapped in a broader Democrat effort called “Project 2029,” envisioned as a left-leaning counterpart to the much-maligned Project 2025, from the Heritage Foundation.
CAP hopes its housing blueprint will become a core part of the party’s governing agenda should Democrats win back the White House.
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