A White House official said Tuesday that the Trump administration will soon sketch out a plan of action regarding the bailed-out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, offering no details but ruling out the unilateral action suggested by one regulator.
“The White House expects to announce a framework for the development of a policy for comprehensive housing finance reform shortly,” White House spokesperson Lindsay Walters said in an email. “At this time, no decisions have been made on any reform plan. As part of the process, however, the Administration will work with Congress to formulate a plan that fully addresses the risks to taxpayers presented by the current housing finance system and that improves the ability of creditworthy Americans to buy a home.”
Late last week Politico reported that Joseph Otting, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency that is serving as the government caretaker of Fannie and Freddie, told agency staff that the administration was planning to unilaterally remove the two companies from the government’s custody.
President Trump has nominated Mark Calabria, an economic adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, to head the agency on a more permanent basis. The White House declined an interview request with Calabria, whose nomination is pending before the Senate.
Separately, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, put housing finance reform at the top of an agenda released Tuesday afternoon. House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., has also said she wants to make the issue a priority for her committee. Housing finance reform legislation will have to move through both committees in order to become law.
Washington has wrestled with what to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored enterprises created to help keep home mortgages affordable, since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. The FHFA placed both under a temporary conservatorship over 10 years ago.
