Maxwell Frost, Orlando’s Gen Z rep with ‘really bad’ credit, faces tough D.C. housing hunt
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Maxwell Frost, Orlando’s new Gen Z congressman, says his poor credit score is complicating his apartment search in Washington, D.C., one of the most expensive places to live in the country.
The dilemma illustrates a national housing crisis that is even affecting members of the U.S. Congress, the 25-year-old incoming lawmaker said.
“This issue is a microcosm of what people are going through across the country, especially in Orlando,” Frost said on Friday, adding he is “still in limbo” on where he’ll stay after he is sworn in on Jan. 3.
Frost, a Democrat, said a landlord turned down his application for an apartment and kept the $50 application fee. His tweeted about it in a moment of “frustration,” making a splash on social media and drawing criticism from conservatives who accused him of lacking “personal responsibility” and the financial sense needed to handle the public’s money.
Frost said his poor credit stems from quitting his job to focus on his year-and-a-half campaign, which demanded up to 12 hours a day. Candidates without personal fortunes are at a disadvantage in politics, he said.
“This is the reality of our system right now, unfortunately,” Frost said. “My credit was just fine before I ran for Congress. I was in a good financial situation for a young person. When I ran, I sacrificed my financial stability.”
His campaign declined to reveal his credit score, the amount of his debt or the name of the apartment building that denied his application. The apartment is in the Navy Yard section of Washington, about a mile south of the U.S. Capitol.
In 2020, Frost made $92,950 as a national organizing director for March for Our Lives, a gun control advocacy group, and another $4,950 for his work on U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, according to his financial disclosure statement.
He reported $46,475 in income from March for Our Lives in 2021 in the disclosure filed in October 2021. He didn’t list any liabilities in the report, defined as personal obligations of more than $10,000 owed to one creditor.
Frost drove Uber to make money during the campaign, but he said it wasn’t enough to pay for his living expenses. He also drew a $4,000-a-month stipend from campaign funds for a few months, as allowed by federal law, according to Kevin Lata, a campaign spokesman.
A Dec. 8 filing showed Frost received at least $9,832 in “salary” from the campaign. He will make $174,000 a year as a member of Congress.
Other candidates who aren’t wealthy have paid themselves from campaign funds or given paid positions to family members, according to a 2019 report from Open Secrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., received $30,000, according to the group. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., got $8,171. Ocasio-Cortez worked as a bartender before pulling off a shocking primary upset.
The salary cannot exceed what the candidate made in the year before becoming a candidate, according to the Federal Election Commission. Candidates can hire family members to work on the campaign as long as they are performing “bona fide services” and are paid based on fair-market value.
The median net worth of members of Congress is just over $1 million, and more than half are millionaires, according to Open Secrets. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott was listed as the wealthiest lawmaker with nearly $260 million in net assets.
Frost will split his time between Washington and Orlando. He rents a house in Fairview Shores in the Orlando area, Lata said.
Housing costs are higher in DC, where the average one-bedroom apartment rents for $2,200 a month, compared with $1,600 in Orlando, according to Zillow.
To cut down on housing costs and save commute time, some lawmakers — mostly Republicans — have opted to sleep in their offices. That’s what Gov. Ron DeSantis did during his stint in Congress, belonging to what has been nicknamed the “couch caucus.”
Frost won’t be sleeping in his office, Lata said.
“You don’t want an intern showing up at 7 a.m., and you are in your boxers,” Lata said. “In no other job in the world are people allowed to sleep in their offices.”
