The Trump administration is facing withering attacks from conservative circles after floating a 50-year mortgage proposal branded as a bid to expand housing affordability.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s housing chief, initially announced the idea on Saturday. In an update Sunday, Pulte framed the proposal as a “potential weapon in a WIDE arsenal of solutions that we are developing right now” to safeguard “the American Dream for YOUNG PEOPLE.”
The plan, which Trump has compared to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 30-year mortgage term under the New Deal, provoked instant rebellion from many figures in the Republican arena, including critics who compared it to long-term renting.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) argued that high interest rates paid on a 50-year mortgage loan would cancel perceived benefits.
“After paying on a home for 5 years, if the rate is 7% on a 50-year mortgage, you will have paid only 1.3% of the principal,” he posted on X.
“If you needed a 50-year loan, you probably didn’t put much down at closing. Seems like a recipe for default & no ability to move for better jobs or school,” Massie continued. The Kentucky lawmaker also questioned how the Trump administration’s saying “here, enjoy this 50-year mortgage” is different from saying “You will own nothing and you will like it,” a quote attributed to a controversial 2016 promo clip for the World Economic Forum.
Chris Rossinni, a senior fellow at the libertarian Ron Paul Institute, said the same, expressing concern that a 50-year mortgage creates a bank-state system and “will mean the bank will own ‘your’ home for 50 years.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) echoed the thought, writing “In debt forever, in debt for life” in a social media post that claimed the 50-year mortgage primarily benefits “banks, mortgage lenders. and home builders, while people pay far more in interest over time and die before they ever pay off their home.”
Greene suggested several alternatives to Pulte’s plan, including allowing people “with a good rent history” to qualify for mortgages, and passing her bill to eliminate the federal capital gains tax on the sale of primary homes.
TRUMP BLASTS AFFORDABILITY ‘CON JOB’ AFTER BEING CHALLENGED ON WALMART THANKSGIVING BASKET
Other critics jumped on board, with GOP personalities Laura Loomer and Matt Walsh suggesting Trump should focus on his immigration agenda. Conservative commentator Meghan McCain added her belief that Washington would be better off focusing on other ways to increase affordability, such as “bringing wages up or costs down instead of debt for life with a 50-year loan.”
Republicans are “supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility, right?” she questioned.
