While President Donald Trump already has plenty of successes to point to when it comes to ending the inflationary crisis of the Biden years, he has started 2026 on a remarkably strong note when it comes to addressing affordability concerns. From tackling runaway housing prices to holding credit card companies accountable for predatory interest rates, Trump looks determined to deliver this year ahead of the midterms on what became the biggest political buzzword of 2025.
In December, Trump teased plans to pursue “aggressive housing reform plans” in the new year. He has already made good on that pledge by unveiling two game-changing initiatives that promise to lower barriers to homeownership.
First, Trump announced that he would be taking action to ban large Wall Street banks from buying up single-family homes, and called on Congress to codify the change into law. “People live in homes, not corporations,” the President wrote in a post on Truth Social. “For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream… but now, because of the Record High Inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people.”
As I have extensively covered before for AMAC Newsline, institutional investors are one of the primary culprits in driving up housing costs, particularly in the country’s hottest markets. Investors bought one of every four homes sold in 2024. In the second quarter of 2025, that figure was one in three.
These big banks pay cash, often above asking price, for homes, outbidding individual buyers and driving up costs. They then turn these properties into rentals, further constraining supply. Since the Great Recession of 2008, Wall Street firms have purchased hundreds of thousands of single-family homes, turning an entire generation of Americans into permanent renters.
Trump’s move against the banks may anger free-market purists, but the reality is that these Wall Street behemoths are suffocating the free market, not operating within it. Corporate c-suites are using anti-competitive practices to wage a financial war on the American Dream of homeownership. They are intentionally driving hard-working families out of the market, and Trump is right to target this un-American and monopolistic behavior.
Shortly after that announcement, Trump also ordered “my representatives” to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds, a move aimed at driving down interest rates and lowering monthly payments.
“Because I chose not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in my First Term… it is now worth many times that amount — AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE — and has $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Because of this, I am instructing my Representatives to BUY $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS. This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable.”
In plain terms, mortgage bonds are bundles of home loans that big housing agencies buy and sell to keep money flowing through the mortgage system. When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the government-backed housing finance companies) step in and buy a large amount of these bonds, it gives banks more confidence to issue new mortgages and compete on price. That competition pushes interest rates down, which directly lowers what families pay each month when they buy a home.
That is why this move matters. Lower rates mean lower monthly payments, and lower payments mean more middle-class families can afford to buy or refinance instead of being priced out. Rather than creating a new bureaucracy or rolling out another federal program, the Trump administration is using the existing housing system to relieve pressure on everyday homeowners – a market-based way to bring housing costs back within reach.
But Trump hasn’t stopped at addressing affordability concerns on housing. He also moved to tackle another major cost burden facing American families by calling for a one-year cap on credit-card interest rates at 10 percent, starting January 20, 2026.
Credit cards today often carry interest rates above 20 percent, meaning everyday purchases can become massively expensive when consumers carry balances month to month. Trump argued that such high rates “rip off” hardworking Americans and that a temporary limit at 10 percent would dramatically reduce the cost of borrowing, saving families tens of billions of dollars in interest payments over the course of a year.
In plain terms, this proposal would make it far cheaper for people to use credit cards without being hit by sky-high interest charges — a relief for millions who carry debt or face unexpected expenses. While details on implementation and enforcement remain to be worked out and likely require congressional action, the idea revives a campaign promise and has drawn bipartisan interest from lawmakers who want to ease financial pressure on consumers.
Taken together with his housing affordability moves, this credit-card proposal fits into a larger theme of lowering everyday costs for Americans. Trump has effectively brought inflation down and kept it in check, while gas prices are at four-year lows and the domestic energy industry is booming, which helps reduce costs across the board.
At the same time, the tax cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill are beginning to take effect, meaning many Americans will see larger tax refunds and less taken out of their paychecks this year. These combined efforts – from encouraging lower mortgage rates to pressing for lower borrowing costs and boosting take-home pay – show a multi-pronged strategy to address affordability head-on.
In 2025, Democrats bet the house on making “affordability” the defining issue, with the corporate media selling out to weaponize cost anxieties against Trump and congressional Republicans. But with serious price relief already locked in and more on the horizon, that strategy may backfire in spectacular fashion in 2026.
Shane Harris is the Editor in Chief of AMAC Newsline. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
