President Trump, on December 12, 2018, announced the nomination of Dr. Mark Calabria, currently the Chief Economist for Vice President Mike Pence, to become the new Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), when the term of current FHFA Director, Melvin Watt, expires in January 2019. The nomination to serve a five-year term as head of the federal agency with direct regulatory responsibility over both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is subject to Senate confirmation.  A confirmation hearing date has yet to be announced.

Over the years, Dr. Calabria has held many positions in Washington, D.C. — both within and outside of the federal government — addressing various aspects of housing and housing finance policy.  Among other things, he served previously as Director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute, as a staff member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, where he worked on housing, housing finance and insurance-related issues for Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Phil Gramm (R-TX), and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory Affairs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In these various roles, MHARR has engaged extensively with Dr. Calabria regarding manufactured housing regulatory and finance issues.

Given the crucial role of FHFA (and its leadership) regarding the implementation of the Duty to Serve Underserved Markets (DTS) by the Government Sponsored Enterprises, MHARR will act to follow-up with the new Director once he has been confirmed and takes office.

MHARR will keep you apprised of further significant developments affecting this matter as they unfold.[/vc_column_text]