The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs voted Tuesday to advance the nomination of Mark Calabria as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to a full Senate vote.
The vote passed along party lines at 13 to 12.
Back in December, President Donald Trump selected Calabria, who then served as chief economist for Vice President Mike Pence, to be the next director of the FHFA.
Previously, Calabria served as a senior aide on the Senate Banking Committee where he was one of the lead drafters of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which created the FHFA.
Calabria served as deputy assistant secretary for regulatory affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during former President George W. Bush’s administration. Calabria also held positions at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, the National Association of Home Builders and the National Association of Realtors.
And now, the Senate Banking Committee passed the vote to nominate Calabria as the next FHFA director. The vote will move to the full Senate, where it is also expected to pass.
“MBA applauds the Senate Banking Committee for approving the nomination of Mark Calabria to be the next Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency,” said Robert Broeksmit, Mortgage Bankers Association president and CEO. “Dr. Calabria has deep expertise in housing policy, which will serve him well in a role that profoundly impacts the mortgage and real estate markets, should he be confirmed.”
“In particular, we hope to work with him to resolve the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and help to better serve borrowers, protect taxpayers and ensure equal access to stable and liquid secondary mortgage markets for a wide variety of single- and multifamily lenders, regardless of size or business model,” Broeksmit continued. “MBA now calls on the full Senate to swiftly confirm Dr. Calabria as the next head of the FHFA.”
Previously, Calabria famously called for the end of the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Click here to read more about what Calabria as director of the FHFA would mean for the future of the GSEs.
“Dr. Calabria’s decades of experience in housing and finance policy have prepared him to implement the FHFA’s mission,” the National Association of Realtors said in a letter to the committee. “It has also helped him understand the need for enhanced transparency at the FHFA and a methodical approach in the development and enforcement of its policies.”
