Battling Gen-Z congressman can’t find a flat
Representative-elect Maxwell Frost of Florida, the first member of Generation Z elected to the US Congress, says he is struggling to get an apartment in Washington and lost an application fee because his credit is ‘‘really bad’’.
The 25-year-old progressive Democrat, who will receive a US$174,000 (NZ$271,700) salary as a congressman, says his score suffered as he accumulated debt while spending 18 months running for office.
Three months into his campaign, he said, he had to become a Uber driver in order to pay his bills and buy food.
‘‘This ain’t meant for people who don’t already have money,’’ Frost tweeted about his problems apartment hunting in Washington, one of the most expensive cities in the country.
His plight reveals the challenge for young or otherwise struggling new members of Congress who are moving to an expensive city and may not have the financial means to secure housing before they start receiving their government salary.
Frost’s campaign manager, Kevin Lata, said the congressman-elect had received more than 100 offers of temporary housing.
He also received a public offer on Twitter from Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez of California, who tweeted that he could crash on the sofa of the apartment Gomez shares with Representative Darren Soto of Florida.
Frost recalled that New York Democrat Alexandria OcasioCortez, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, faced a similar problem in 2018 at age 29. She said she was unable to afford an apartment in the capital before her salary kicked in. Ocasio-Cortez highlighted the wealth of many members of Congress, and questioned how they could fairly represent working people if they didn’t experience the same struggles.
Frost, who has Cuban heritage, campaigned on gun safety and ‘‘Medicare for All’’, and was endorsed by progressive leaders, including senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.