A proposal aimed at helping boost home sales found the president “not a huge fan” as he touted the upside his economic policies were having on retirement funds.
(Video Credit: The White House)
While holding people accountable and restoring law and order in the country remains a constant desire for President Donald Trump’s supporters, Americans have universally longed for more favorable economic conditions. As affordability has become a buzzword, looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections, the chief executive bucked a policymaking adviser’s suggestion on allowing 401(k)s be utilized for putting a down payment on a home.
“It’s something I’m not a huge fan of. Other people like it. They’re talking about taking money out to put a deposit down on a home,” Trump told the press while aboard Air Force One on his return trip from addressing the World Economic Forum. “And one of the reasons I don’t like it is that their 401(k)s are doing so well. You know, 401(k)s are up 80%-90% in some cases.”
Having not brought up proposed access to the investment funds while speaking in Davos, Switzerland, the president continued, “The housing market is good, but the 401(k)s are doing much better than the housing market.”
“I like keeping their 401(k)s in great shape,” he said. “I’m not a huge fan of putting down a deposit, I’m not. I’m so happy with the way 401(k)s are doing. We’ve got people telling me they’re up 88% and over the period of a year, over a full year, it’s gonna be, I mean, it’s gonna be close to 100%.”
Similar to conflicting messaging on out-of-the-box proposals to address the housing market, like 50-year mortgages, the president’s remarks about the 401(k) idea ran contrary to what National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said only days earlier.
Appearing on Fox News’ “Mornings with Maria” prior to Trump’s Davos speech, Hassett remarked, “The typical monthly payment about doubled for an ordinary family buying an ordinary home, and the down payment they needed to buy a home went from about $15,000 to about $32,000. And so there’s a real lot of room to make up.”
“We’ve got a whole bunch of policies that are going to help people do that. The one you didn’t mention that we’re also talking about, and the president will put the final plan out in Davos next week … is that we’re gonna allow people to take money out of their 401(k)s and use that for a down payment,” insisted the director.
Kevin Hassett says Trump will announce next week in #Davos that American’s may be allowed to take money out of their 401k’s for a home down payment pic.twitter.com/YDGPx2Dakt
— Mornings with Maria (@MorningsMaria) January 16, 2026
In response to host Maria Bartiromo’s expressed concerns about how such a proposal might hurt people when they decide to retire, Hassett remarked that the “mechanics” were still under discussion, but suggested putting 10% equity from the home back into the 401(k) after using the fund to cover the costs of a down payment. “Then, your 401(k) will grow over time as the value of your house grows.”
What Trump discussed at Davos was his proposal for a temporary 10% cap on credit card interest rates, which had already been dismissed as likely “not thought through” by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) amid expectations that issuers would restrict lending.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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