Elizabeth Warren tells Trump to 'sign the damn bill' over stalled bipartisan housing package

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Elizabeth Warren accused President Donald Trump of blocking a bipartisan housing package, bluntly telling him to "sign the damn bill" during a televised interview.

The Massachusetts Democrat argued the legislation had already won support across party lines before Trump refused to move it forward. She cast the president as the lone obstacle to a bill aimed at tackling the nation's housing shortage.

Warren says Trump stalled bipartisan housing bill

Appearing on WCVB's 'On the Record', Warren sharply criticized Trump's decision not to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, calling him a "man-child" throwing a "tantrum" over legislation she said had broad bipartisan backing.

"If he cared about the American people, he'd have already signed the damn thing," Warren said, arguing that Trump "does not care about the economic survival of America's working families."

According to Warren, the legislation contains nearly 50 provisions designed to address the nationwide housing crisis after decades of under-building drove home prices higher and left the country short by millions of housing units.

She said the package is primarily intended to lower construction costs and make it easier to build new homes while also limiting corporate consolidation in the housing market.

Massachusetts Democrat says Republicans backed bill before Trump

The measure was co-sponsored by Senator Tim Scott, and includes provisions Warren said would prevent private equity firms from buying neighborhoods and turning America "into a nation of renters."

Warren argued the proposal had drawn support from lawmakers in both parties before Trump halted the signing process.

"It was handed to the president on a silver platter," she said, adding that Republicans had been publicly praising the legislation before Trump's decision.

"Republicans were all going online, saying, 'well, I helped write that bill. This bill is terrific,'" Warren said. "So everybody's out there saying, 'my bill, I helped make this happen,' right up until the man-child has a tantrum and announces he will not be signing it."

Trump tied signing to SAVE America Act

Trump previously canceled a planned signing ceremony, saying lawmakers must first pass the unrelated SAVE America Act, a voting-focused measure, before he would sign the housing legislation.

Warren used that decision to argue the president had stopped legislation she says had already brought Republicans and Democrats together behind a shared effort to address the country's housing crisis.