NEW: Trump Sets Over $230 Million for Rural Housing on Fire

As fiscal year ends at midnight, Trump admin is on track to let $230M+ in federal funding to help low-income Americans in rural areas afford to buy a home

POLITICO: $230 million in federal rural housing funds set to expire this week

***STATE-BY-STATE DATA HERE***

Washington, D.C. - As the fiscal year ends at midnight tonight, the Trump administration is on track to not spend nearly half of the $1 billion Congress has allocated for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Single Family Housing Direct Home Loans program, which helps low- and very-low-income Americans in rural areas get the financing they need to afford a home to call their own. Each year, the program finances roughly 5,500 mortgages.

Over $230 million in funding that could have helped families hit by the housing crisis will expire tonight. That funding could have helped approximately 850 more rural households realize their dream of homeownership.

"This theft is an attack on rural America. President Trump and Secretary Rollins are lighting funding on fire that should have helped families in rural areas fulfill their dreams of owning a home to call their own," said Senator Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "There's no excusing the fact that as the housing crisis hits rural America, this administration's incompetence and intentional sabotage are denying help to families who need it most."

"At a time when Americans are struggling to find housing they can afford, we should be doing everything possible to help families put a roof over their heads-especially in the most rural parts of our country where affordable housing options can be few and far between," said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. "By letting this funding expire, the administration is sending a clear message: addressing sky-high housing prices isn't one of their priorities."

As of today, USDA has only spent $518 million of $1 billion in available funding for the program. While $250 million of the nearly half billion in unspent funds can be used in the next fiscal year, over $230 million cannot, and the Trump administration's failure to properly manage this program and get the funds out this fiscal year means families across the country will be denied assistance while many more will have to wait longer for help they should have been able to get this year.

President Trump proposed eliminating this important program in fiscal year 2026-a cut Congress rejected-and the Trump administration has imposed harmful new red tape on the program. There is no recent precedent of any administration failing to tap this program's funding to help Americans in rural areas get help buying a home.

The housing affordability crisis is hitting rural America hard. As a 2025 White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) report noted: "real rural house prices have risen at faster than 6x the pace of homeowner incomes, which is pushing homebuying further out of reach for young families."

A state-by-state breakdown comparing funding the Trump administration has gotten out to help rural families buy homes this year versus the prior-year average is available HERE.

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