During a wide-ranging discussion about the government’s role in housing, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief economist Mark Calabria revealed Wednesday that the Trump administration is "committed" to ending the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. What else did Calabria say? Click through to find out.

On Sept. 6, 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship. Nearly nine years later, the largest trade group in the mortgage finance space, the Mortgage Bankers Association, released a white paper to stay in front of the housing reform conversation and address one of the thorniest issues: how to transition to a new system.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are scheduled to send their latest dividend payment to the Department of the Treasury later this month, but if a consortium of community groups and lenders has their way, that money will stay with the government-sponsored enterprises to help rebuild their dwindling capital base.

Fresh off handing down a significant ruling in the battle over the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit just dealt a sizable body blow to the investors who claimed that the government’s decision to sweep all the profits from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the government’s coffers was not only unnecessary, but illegal as well.

While the Democrats in the Senate fight the confirmation of Steve Mnuchin, the Trump administration’s choice to lead the Department of the Treasury, the fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continues to reside in suspended animation. But how much longer will the government-sponsored enterprises float in the conservatorship ether? According to a new report from Fitch Ratings, those waiting for comprehensive GSE reform may have to wait a little longer.

In the weeks since Steve Mnuchin sent shockwaves through the housing industry by stating that the Trump administration planned to end the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reactions varied on whether that can actually be done and how expensive it might be. Here's an interesting take from an interested party on how the GSEs might actually exit conservatorship and what that would mean to the GSE stockholders who've waited quite a few years for a resolution.

Steve Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of the Treasury, recently said that “getting Fannie and Freddie out of government ownership” is one of the Trump administration’s top 10 priorities. But just how realistic is that plan? According to a new report from Moody’s Investors Service, privatizing the GSEs is not only unlikely to happen any time soon, it’s also hugely cost-prohibitive, and it would be a negative for bond investors as well. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the show?

If the Republican Party sweeps November’s elections, the world of housing finance could be in for some significant changes, as the party's 2016 platform calls for seriously cutting the government’s role in housing. The platform could potentially abolish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and end the use of disparate impact.

Over the last year, various groups, including community lenders, affordable housing advocates, civil rights groups, interested observers, and financial analysts, called for a change in governmental policy that would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to rebuild a capital base. Now, there's a new voice pushing to recapitalize the GSEs, or several, as it were, coming from an interesting source.

Well, it seems we can't go more than a few days without a prominent, national media personality commenting on the stability and standing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, how the GSEs ended up in conservatorship, and what’s next. Last month, Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi weighed in. And now, no less than George Will has written about "#FannieGate."