Biden’s Team Explores Ways to Oust Fannie-Freddie Regulator
- Aides have discussed status of FHFA Director Mark Calabria
- Removing him might hinge on pending Supreme Court case
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
President-elect Joe Biden’s team has held preliminary talks on how it could oust Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator, said people familiar with the matter, a move that would let the new administration fill a post that’s crucial to the mortgage market and its goal of boosting affordable housing.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is now led by Mark Calabria, a libertarian economist appointed by President Donald Trump whose term extends into 2024. The incoming administration has no plans to take action against Calabria any time soon and it’s unclear whether Biden would even have the authority to remove him. The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up a case that could eliminate any ambiguity, though a ruling might take longer than Biden and his aides would want to wait.