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A group of 14 Democratic senators, led by Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), have called on Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte to pause any potential plans to release government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship.
The letter, first reported by Bloomberg, said that any potential plans need to be presented to Congress in a briefing before they’re pursued. Rushing the process, the senators said, could have adverse impacts on the mortgage market including through higher interest rates and benefits to wealthier investors as opposed to ordinary homebuyers.
“Hasty and poorly planned changes to the Enterprises could dramatically increase costs for families seeking to purchase a home, rewarding President Trump’s billionaire campaign contributors while making the housing crisis even worse,” the senators wrote, according to the report.
FHFA did not respond to the outlet’s comment request.
Discussions about releasing the GSEs have ramped up significantly over the past two weeks.
While Pulte in the past indicated that FHFA and the administration might not prioritize a release in order to fully assess the potential mortgage market impacts, he has also consistently said the ultimate decision lies with President Donald Trump.
Late last month, Trump indicated in a social media post that he would work on “taking these amazing companies public” with an implicit guarantee.
Other recent reporting has indicated that the Trump administration has studied the possibility of turning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into public companies while keeping them under conservatorship as officials assess what best aligns with their budget deficit reduction goals. Pulte floated this idea in some recent media interviews.
In a public appearance last month, Pulte reiterated the president’s final decision-making authority over GSE conservatorship. But he also labeled the companies as “obese” while sharing more of his thinking behind the controversial shakeup of their governing boards.
Last week, Pulte called on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, a day before the president made his social media declaration regarding conservatorship.
