As he did with Pam Patenaude, President Donald Trump is tapping another Bush Administration official to rejoin the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Patenaude, who was HUD assistant secretary for community, planning and development under President George W. Bush, now serves as HUD deputy secretary, second-in-command behind HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
And Thursday, the Trump administration announced its intention to nominate Len Wolfson to serve as HUD assistant secretary congressional and intergovernmental relations.
Wolfson previously served at HUD under the Bush Administration as general deputy assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental relations.
According to the White House, during his previous term as HUD, Wolfson “led HUD’s successful legislative efforts to modernize the Federal Housing Administration as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.”
The White House said that Wolfson is currently the associate vice president of legislative affairs for the Mortgage Bankers Association, where he helps head up the trade group’s lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. Specifically, Wolfson led the MBA's Republican lobbying efforts in the House of Representatives.
But a spokesperson for the MBA said that Wolfson left the trade group two months ago. HousingWire attempted to contact HUD for clarification and this article will be updated should HUD respond.
According to Wolfson’s LinkedIn page, he joined the MBA in 2008, after serving at HUD from July 2005 through October 2008.
Prior to that, Wolfson served as the field director for Northwest Pennsylvania for the Bush-Cheney 2004 Presidential Campaign.
Earlier in his career, Wolfson served as the legislative director for former Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Connecticut, from 1996-2004. Shays served in the House of Representatives from 1987-2009.
[Update: This article is updated to reflect Wolfson's departure from the MBA two months ago.]