Astead Herndon

And offering every first-time homeowner $20,000 in down payment assistance.

and expanding rental assistance.

But if you ask me, I think the most interesting thing about this proposal is the timing of it all.

Democrats aren't in control of Congress.

Donald Trump will still be the president for the next couple years.

And it doesn't feel as if these policies have any kind of short-term viability on the Hill.

Why is this happening now?

I think we should see it as an effort in flag planting, in litmus test creation.

And progressives in Congress are trying to define what affordability means to them ahead of the 2026 midterms and ahead of a 2028 presidential election that will define the party's future.

And so as we think about a post-Trump America, this feels to me like a good place to start.

Joining me now is Congressman Greg Kesar.

He's the head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a member from Texas.

Thank you for joining us.

I mean, as we talked about, we wanted to talk about the new affordability agenda that the Progressive Caucus released.

And my first question was kind of why release this agenda now?

Democrats are obviously not in the congressional majority.

Why at this moment?

It sounds like you find these planks achievable in, you know, the ability to kind of keep Democrats together and kind of unify the caucus around them.

Can you explain that to me?

Because, you know, Congress hasn't necessarily gotten itself a reputation for passing big bills over the last couple of years.