Times have been tough in recent years. 2022 specifically, brought on many financial and other consequences to the American economy and public, tied to the Russia-Ukraine war, and even some lingering ones from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

With costs having soared across the board from food to housing, the younger Generation Z has had a hard time coping with the high costs as many are now moving into the next foray of their lives, which includes moving out on their own. 

However, the current state of the economy is making that impossible for many, including some incoming elected officials. 

One of the surprise victors from the past 2022 midterm elections was new Florida U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost. The 25-year old was one of the only Democrats to win a seat in Florida where the majority of the state flipped entirely in favor of the GOP. The incoming Gen-Z congressman will represent Florida’s 10th Congressional District, which contains most of the western part of Orlando. 

While Frost is expected to make roughly $174,000 over the course of the next two years as a member of Congress, the young elected official has been vocal about his housing woes, that include being denied apartments over his bad credit and low income. 

Frost has been openly looking for an apartment since winning the election this past November and first tweeted out in December that he had been denied housing because of his low-income as well as America’s favorite statistic — credit score. 

The new congressman has pointed out that his poor credit score is in large part due to maxing out credit cards and running up a huge debt during his one-and-a-half-year campaign. During that time, Frost was driving for Uber to help make ends meet, but even with that, he was unable to pay for his cost of living over the past few years. 

In the first denial, Frost was upfront about his income and poor credit score, and was told by the landlord that it would be fine, only for Frost to then lose out on the apartment because of said low score, as well as his inability to pay an application fee, which he also called out as a new stream of revenue for management companies. 

The elected congressman also spoke more on the issue during an interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl. 

“It’s not cheap,” Frost said. “I’m dealing with it right now, getting denied from apartments, trying to figure out where to live because I have bad credit. I’m probably just going to have to, like, couch surf for a little bit.”

Frost’s income and housing woes have made him an even more popular and relatable official among younger crowds who are witnessing that even their own country’s own elected officials cannot afford to live where they work. 

The situation continued into the new year as the RNC Research Twitter account, ran by the RNC, tweeted out an excerpt of Frost’s ABC News interview and tweeted: “Florida Democrat Congressman-elect Maxwell Frost — whose salary as a Member of Congress will be $174,000/year — says he's "probably just gonna have to like couch surf for a little bit."

This prompted Frost to mockingly reply to the GOP ran account. 

“So out of touch that they don’t understand how renting an apartment works. Let me break this down… I don’t get my first paycheck till February and I don’t have a lot of money. When you move into an apartment, you pay first, deposit, sometimes last, and for furniture,” Frost tweeted. 

He followed it up with another cheeky response. 

“So much for that “RNC research,” he tweeted, followed by a laughing emoji. 

This exchange prompted many to come out and defend Frost against the RNC call out. Many have called the RNC out of touch, and insensitive to the situation of an elected official. 

“You know he’s paid bi-weekly over 26 pay periods right? He’s not just given $174,000 upfront before he starts working. It’s just like a normal job,” wrote a responder. “You’ve had normal jobs before, right?” 

While many would have hoped Frost’s first piece of action as congressman would have entailed something political, his first task is to find housing before he is sworn in.