Lawmaker says Trump could keep housing-cost pledge by backing Democratic bill in rare call for common ground
EXCLUSIVE: A Democratic lawmaker sponsoring legislation aimed at disincentivizing private equity and large investment firms from buying up single-family homes and driving working people out of the market is calling on President Donald Trump to back her proposal, as the president prepares to unveil his own response to the crisis during appearances at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.
Trump recently posted to Truth Social his concern that homebuying – as the "pinnacle of the American Dream" – is no longer attainable for younger Americans and floated a ban on "institutional investors," saying that "people live in homes, not corporations."
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who, along with Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and others drafted the "Stop Predatory Investing Act," told Fox News Digital she will be personally asking Trump to back her bill that she said does exactly what he wants to do while coming from the opposite side of the political aisle.
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"It's Wisconsin families who should be buying homes in our neighborhoods – not big, wealthy out-of-state investors," Baldwin said.
"For too long, big corporations and wealthy private equity firms have been allowed to ‘gobble up’ single-family homes just to pad their pockets, driving up housing costs in our neighborhoods and locking families out of homeownership."
"President Trump should make good on his promise and get behind my plan to crack down on Wall Street using Wisconsin communities to turn a profit and make housing more affordable for families."
Trump teased that he would be mentioning the issue during his remarks at the World Economic Forum, the annual confab of wealthy globalist business and political interests held in Davos, Switzerland.
Baldwin’s bill was first introduced several months ago, having last been referred to the Senate Finance Committee, according to the congressional record.
The bill would target large investment firms that buy up swaths of new, single-family homes by negating tax incentives that make such mass-purchases profitable.
It would apply to companies or people who buy 50 or more homes and deny the ability to deduct mortgage interest and depreciation – which is typically meant as an aid to the individual homebuyer.
"I write to urge you to deliver on your promise to make owning a home more affordable by banning large institutional investors from buying up single-family homes and by calling on Congressional Republicans to immediately pass the Stop Predatory Investing Act," Baldwin will write to Trump on Tuesday.
"This legislation would crack down on Wall Street investors that buy up homes in neighborhoods across the country, driving housing prices up and putting homeownership out of reach for too many Americans."
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Baldwin said that in the second quarter of 2025, private investment accounted for one-third of all single-family residential property sales, the highest in five years.
"This increasingly common practice by investors is severely impacting our housing supply because they target the same types of affordable starter homes as first-time homebuyers—pushing families out of the housing market," Baldwin will warn the president, adding she was "pleasantly surprised" to hear him focus on the issue publicly.
"Investors can then turn these properties into rentals, leading to corporate landlords driving up rent prices, evicting tenants, and poorly maintaining properties compared to smaller landlords."
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Trump, however, had blamed Democrats for driving the dream of homeownership out of reach, citing recent record inflation under their tenure in leadership.
Other Democrats who have been keen on the issue reacted differently to Trump’s mention of the problem.
In a statement on the day Trump announced his intention to address the topic at Davos and push Congress for a solution, Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts blasted him for "not yet lift[ing] a finger to bring down housing costs."
"I've been advocating for years to limit Wall Street from buying up America's homes. Enough talk – Trump should start with getting his own party in the House to support a bipartisan bill to bring down housing costs that passed the Senate unanimously," Warren said.
Baldwin, however, appeared more diplomatic.
"You have the opportunity to make homeownership more affordable for American families. I urge you to call on Congressional Republicans to pass the Stop Predatory Investing Act and send this commonsense legislation to your desk to be signed into law," she wrote.
In comments to Fox News Digital about Trump's plans to speak on the dynamic at Davos, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the president "pledged to improve housing affordability for Americans still reeling from Joe Biden’s economic disaster, and the Administration is committed to exploring every tool possible to deliver for the American people."
"President Trump will soon unveil new policy initiatives that will restore the American dream of home ownership," Ingle said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, whose panel is reviewing Baldwin’s bill, for comment.