Democrats Campaigning on Housing Affordability Accept Millions from 'Foreclosure Crisis Profiteer'
Prominent Democratic politicians who have vocally criticised rising housing costs and corporate influence in real estate have accepted millions of dollars in campaign donations from Don Mullen, the investor infamous for profiting from the 2007 housing market collapse. This has sparked accusations of hypocrisy from Republican opponents.
House Minority Leader's Substantial Contributions
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, one of the nation's most powerful Democrats, has consistently promised to "lower housing costs," "end price gouging," and criticised politicians for "pandering to big Republican donors." However, Federal Election Committee records reveal that his primary political fund, the House Majority PAC, received $700,000 from Mullen. This includes a $50,000 donation made in October 2023.
Jeffries has repeatedly highlighted America's housing crisis in public statements. "After decades of underinvestment in public housing, skyrocketing rental prices, lack of affordable housing stock and the widening wealth gap, we are facing a housing crisis in America," he declared in a 2023 press release. In a June 2024 social media post, he asserted, "Democrats will lower housing costs, end price gouging and grow the middle class."
Don Mullen's Controversial Background and Current Empire
Don Mullen gained notoriety during a 2010 Senate investigation which exposed an email he sent to colleagues as the housing market collapsed, stating, "Sounds like we will make some serious money." After earning millions from the crisis, Mullen founded Pretium Partners, using a $400 million loan from Deutsche Bank—a bank that received government support during the financial crisis—to purchase distressed properties at bargain prices.
By 2024, Pretium's subsidiaries, including Progress Residential, owned over 210,000 properties, making it one of the largest single-family landlords in the United States. In some counties, particularly Clark County, Nevada, Pretium is the single largest homeowner. Mullen has donated a total of $5.8 million to Democratic campaigns nationwide.
Republican Accusations of Hypocrisy
The National Republican Congressional Committee has seized upon these donations. NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella stated, "While Republicans are laser-focused on lowering costs for working families, hypocritical national Democrats are lining their pockets with the very scumbags who drove families out of their homes." He added, "Democrats can rail against 'corporate greed' on cable news all they want, but voters aren't buying their phony lies."
Multiple Democratic Lawmakers Received Mullen Donations
The controversy extends beyond Jeffries. Nevada Congresswoman Susie Lee, who wrote to the Federal Housing Finance Agency in June 2024 calling for transparency about "out-of-state corporate entities" buying Nevada homes and raising prices, received $2,800 from Mullen in 2019. Similarly, Nevada Congressman Steven Horsford, who has proposed legislation to tackle "a housing crisis driven by out-of-state property speculators," also accepted $2,800 from Mullen in 2019.
A spokesperson for Horsford defended his record, saying, "Rep. Horsford has been one of the most outspoken members of Congress fighting to bring down housing costs and crack down on corporate investors that are pricing families out of the market. His focus remains on holding housing speculators accountable and expanding homeownership opportunities for working families."
Other recipients include New Jersey Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Josh Gottheimer, who took $8,600 from Mullen between 2020 and 2022 while campaigning against his state's cost-of-living crisis, and California Congressman Josh Harder, a key member of the 'Build America Caucus' advocating for more housing, who received $2,800 in 2019.
Pretium's Defense and Industry Context
Mullen and Pretium Partners declined to comment directly. However, a source close to the company told the Daily Mail that Pretium views itself as part of the solution to the housing crisis, not the problem. The source highlighted that the company provides lending for homebuilders that traditional banks no longer offer and argued that criticism of private equity funds is misdirected, as institutional investors own less than four percent of the nation's 91 million single-family rental homes, with most owned by small-scale landlords.
Jeffries, Lee, Horsford, Gottheimer, and Harder did not respond to requests for comment regarding the donations. The revelations have intensified scrutiny on the alignment between Democratic rhetoric on housing affordability and their campaign financing sources, creating a significant political vulnerability as housing costs remain a critical issue for American voters.
