Trump might declare national housing emergency, according to Scott Bessent
- Alexangel Ventura
- Sep 4
- 2 min read
According to remarks from the Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, the Trump administration is considering declaring a national housing emergency this fall, citing willingness to expand federal government power to address the crisis.
Bessent, in an interview with the Washington Examiner, noted that a potential September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve could ease the cost of homebuying through mortgage availability; however, rate reductions alone won't singlehandedly solve the problem. "We’re trying to figure out what we can do," Bessent told the Washington Examiner. "And we don’t want to step into the business of states, counties, and municipal governments."
Bessent did not, however, indicate what specific measures the Trump administration would do to reduce housing prices after a proposed national emergency declaration. He stated that the administration is examining ways to lower housing costs. Some of these proposed ideas include reducing costs that add thousands to home purchases, eliminating/cutting tariffs on certain construction materials to make homebuilding more affordable, and standardizing local zoning and building regulations.
"I think we're going to see a big economic pickup in 2026," Bessent assured to Americans through his media interview.
His announcement came as the administration faced pressure to ease the housing crisis which they did not prioritize in the first 6 months in office. Chris Herbert, the Managing Director at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, argued, "There must be a concerted effort to do more to address the affordability and supply crisis. The potential consequences of inaction are simply too harmful to the macroeconomy and the millions of households striving for a safe, affordable place to call home."
In addition, David Greenwald from a publication on Davis Vanguard highlighted the housing affordability issue by stating, "More homes on the market, yet fewer people able to buy them… We’re confronting a housing affordability collapse."
Furthermore, even Americans are growing concerned. According to Realtor.com, buying a home is now almost as unaffordable as at any point in the past 40 years.
