Incoming Generation Z congressman says he may ‘couch surf’ after being denied DC apartment

Rep.-elect Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) said Sunday that he’ll probably have to “couch surf for a little bit” as he begins his tenure in Congress, after he tweeted last month that he was denied an apartment in Washington, D.C. because of his “really bad” credit.

“I’m dealing with it right now, getting denied from apartments, trying to figure out where I’m going to live because I have bad credit. I’m probably just going to have to couch surf for a little bit,” Frost told ABC’s “This Week” ahead of being sworn-in on Tuesday.

Frost has said in the past that the reason his credit is so low is because of his congressional campaign. Though he worked at Uber as a driver to make ends meet, the money wasn’t enough to pay for the cost of living and running for Congress for a year and a half, he said.

Frost said that while he had been told he could apply to an apartment with bad credit, he was later denied and lost out on the application fee.

Frost may be the first Generation Z congressman, but he’s not the first to be unable to afford a D.C. apartment as he takes the position.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ran as a young progressive candidate in 2018, after which she said she could not afford to rent an apartment in Washington, D.C. at the time.

Frost is taking the seat formerly held by former Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), who left the House to run for a Senate seat.