President Donald Trump may soon declare a national housing emergency — the first since the Great Recession — as his administration scrambles to confront a worsening affordability crisis.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Washington Examiner Monday that the White House is actively considering the move for this fall. “Housing could be next,” Bessent said, framing affordability as a top priority heading into the 2026 midterms.

Since taking office, Trump has declared nine national emergencies, ranging from immigration to trade to violent crime in Washington. Housing would mark a new frontier, reflecting both voter anxiety and Trump’s determination to brand himself as the president tackling kitchen-table costs.

Bessent floated potential interventions short of federal overreach — including standardized zoning codes, lower closing costs, and tariff exemptions on construction materials. He also predicted a “big economic pickup in 2026,” fueled by Fed rate cuts and Trump’s trade policies, though he conceded it’s unclear how higher import costs will filter down to consumers.

Trump, meanwhile, has escalated his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, blaming high interest rates for squeezing mortgage borrowers. “People can’t get a mortgage because of him,” Trump fumed on Truth Social.

The last national housing emergency came amid the 2008 crash, when cheap credit and risky lending helped trigger a global financial meltdown. Trump’s challenge today is different: chronic undersupply, soaring prices, and a rental market increasingly out of reach. How far the White House will go remains uncertain, but the administration has now signaled that housing is moving to the center of its political agenda.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)