Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, is a rumored candidate to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, an article in MarketWatch reports. 

The article claims, Zandi, a Democrat, was an economic adviser to Republican Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign and could likely attract a lot of support from senators. 

Recently, the White House has had trouble deciding who to nominate for the agency’s next director, but Representative Mel Watt, D-N.C., has also been suggested for the position, according to the report.  

The Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter when initially covering Zandi as a possible FHFA candidate.

Sitting FHFA director Ed DeMarco has been at the center of housing debate for a few years now, with the Obama administration at one point pushing him to allow principal reductions on loans owned or guaranteed by the GSEs, a measure that DeMarco countered as beyond the agency’s mandate and a bad move for taxpayers.

The FHFA declined to comment about the rumored director nomination.