If confirmed by the Senate, Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., will replace Ed DeMarco, the current – and controversial – acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. While Democrats have been calling for DeMarco’s head for years as he has pushed back on more extreme housing remedies, Republicans have quietly supported DeMarco’s decisions.
But the president’s pick portends big changes in housing policy. After all, the FHFA is the main federal regulator overseeing housing policy, and whoever runs it will have a major impact on home ownership, mortgage lending, and the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage giants in federal conservatorship.
But for all the fanfare surrounding the nomination of Watt, there’s one small matter standing in the way. Though DeMarco is a holdover from the Bush administration, the current political climate in Congress means he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
That’s because nominees for FHFA Director must be confirmed by the Senate. In years past, Congress routinely ratified the President’s choices. No longer. Nowadays Senate confirmations are the political equivalent of a reality TV show, in which lawmakers preen for the cameras, fight among themselves and nominees are subjected to a merciless and microscopic scrutiny of their personal lives.
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