On June 23, the U.S. House did something rare. It passed a big, bipartisan bill to make housing cheaper — 358 to 32. Republicans and Democrats voted for it together. NPR called it the largest housing affordability bill in decades.

Only 32 members of the whole House said no. Six of them came from Florida — a state where housing costs are crushing families.

Byron Donalds, Anna Paulina Luna, Greg Steube, Randy Fine, Kat Cammack, and Aaron Bean all voted against it. The official House roll call shows each of them: Voted Nay.

And here's the part that should make every Floridian angry: their no votes had almost nothing to do with housing.

What they voted against

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is aimed at one thing: making homes easier to build and easier to afford. According to the Florida Phoenix, the bill would:

• Cut red tape that slows down home construction
• Expand what federal housing money can be used for
• Let community grant money go toward building new affordable homes
• Tie a $3.3 billion grant program to how much affordable housing cities actually build
• Ban private equity firms from buying up single-family homes — the Wall Street investors who buy houses by the thousands and price regular families out

The Senate passed the same bill 85 to 5. This was not a close call. It was not a partisan fight. It was Congress finally agreeing on something almost everyone wants.

Florida's own Republican Senator Ashley Moody voted for it. (Rick Scott, Florida's other senator, was one of just five no votes.)

So why did they vote no?

Because Donald Trump told them to.

Trump canceled the signing ceremony for the housing bill and said on Truth Social that he would do nothing until Congress passes the SAVE America Act — a bill that would make it harder for Americans to vote. It would require strict documentary proof of citizenship, like a passport or birth certificate, just to register. It would limit mail-in voting.

This wasn't a snap decision, either. Back in March, Randy Fine led a letter to the Senate, signed by 25 House Republicans — most of this Florida group among them — promising to vote against every single bill that comes from the Senate until it passes the SAVE America Act:

"We, the undersigned, are prepared to vote NO on any Senate bill on the House Floor."

Read that again. A promise — in writing — to vote no on anything. It didn't matter what the bill did. It didn't matter who it helped. Cheaper housing for Florida families? No. Because a voter suppression bill hadn't passed yet.

On June 23, all six voted exactly that way. Florida families are the ones paying for it.

In their own words

They weren't shy about it, either.

Luna said the Senate "cannot keep punching the American people in the face" and warned that "not one piece of their legislation will pass unless they pass the save America act."

Fine posted on X: "Mr. President, thank you for putting our elections first. Without secure elections, we don't have a country. The SAVE America Act is a must — not a maybe. We stand with you."

Donalds — who is running to be Florida's next governor — put it this way at a press conference: "The Senate sucks."

Donalds also claimed that "eighty percent of the American people" want the SAVE America Act to pass. That's not true. As the Florida Phoenix noted, a Politico poll from May found that a plurality of Americans neither support nor oppose the bill. What polls actually show is broad support for photo ID — which Florida has required for decades. The SAVE America Act goes much further than that, demanding documents like passports or birth certificates that 21.3 million voting-age Americans don't have ready access to.

Who gets hurt

Florida was just ranked the worst state in the country for renters, with about 2.8 million Floridians struggling with rising housing costs. For the poorest renters it's even worse: 82% of Florida's extremely low-income renters are severely cost-burdened — the second-highest rate in the nation — and the state has only 25 affordable homes available for every 100 of them. Soaring insurance costs are piling on top.

A bill to help fix that — backed by huge majorities of both parties — was sitting right there. Six Florida Republicans looked at it and said no, so Trump could use it as ransom.

That's the trade they made: your rent, your mortgage, your kids' chance to ever own a home — held hostage for a bill that makes it harder for you to vote.

When they ask Florida for votes in 2026, remember what they did when Florida needed them to vote.

Source

Read the original reporting from the Florida Phoenix. Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix.