The Trump administration announced Tuesday two new nominations for key financial policy posts.
Mark Calabria, currently the chief economist to Vice President Mike Pence, has been nominated to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency for a full five-year term. The term of the current director, Obama appointee Mel Watt, expires in early January.
Calabria also served as a senior aide to the Senate Banking Committee when it passed legislation to create the FHFA, which regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank system. Fannie and Freddie, quasi-governmental companies created to aid the home mortgage market, have both been in what was intended to be a temporary conservatorship since the 2008 housing market and global financial crisis.
President Trump also nominated Heath Tarbert, assistant secretary for international markets at the Treasury Department, to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Current Chairman Christopher Giancarlo’s term expires in April 2019.
At Treasury, Tarbert manages the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which is responsible for investigating deals in which foreign companies may acquire a stake or full ownership in a company that could impact national security. Tarbert also oversees Treasury’s work on economic development, international financial stability, trade policy, energy and infrastructure projects, and technical assistance to foreign governments.
As chairman of the CFTC, Tarbert would oversee rules and regulation for the multitrillion dollar commodities market, which includes assets ranging from crops to cryptocurrencies.
