Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the conservative outgoing chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Thursday that he’ll return to Dallas when his term expires rather than seeking another job in Washington.
In making his remarks, Hensarling took himself out of consideration to become the regulator in charge of the bailed-out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which he has pushed to reform.
“It would be tempting. But my future has me going back home to Dallas, Texas,” the Texas Republican said of the prospect of being nominated by President Trump in a public interview with Politico in Washington.
“It was never my intention to be part of the permanent ruling class,” he added, explaining that he wants to spend more time with his children and make more money in the private sector.
Hensarling’s intention to move to Dallas would seemingly remove him from consideration for other government posts — he was reportedly a candidate for Trump’s Treasury secretary pick — as well as for other D.C. jobs. For instance, he has been rumored to be the next head of the American Enterprise Institute, the conservative think tank from which Arthur Brooks is stepping down as president.
Trump will be able to nominate a new director next year to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the agency that has control over Fannie and Freddie while they are in the government’s custody. The next FHFA director will have broad discretion to overhaul the housing finance system. In his role as committee chairman, Hensarling has sought to shutter Fannie and Freddie and shrink the government’s role in mortgage markets.
For the post, Hensarling recommended Ed DeMarco, the fiscally conservative former acting director of the agency, who is working for the Financial Services Roundtable, an industry group.
