Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Housing nominees pledge program streamlining as senators raise staffing and counseling concerns
Loading...
Summary
Ginnie Mae and FHA nominees told the Banking Committee they intend to streamline programs and speed approvals, while senators pressed for details on HUD staff reductions, the fate of housing counseling and underused FHA construction tools.
Two housing‑sector nominees testified to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs about plans to improve access to affordable housing, even as senators warned that recent staff cuts at HUD and program changes have reduced on‑the‑ground capacity.
Martin Gormley, President Trump’s nominee for Ginnie Mae, described Ginnie Mae’s role guaranteeing timely principal and interest on mortgage‑backed securities and cited a portfolio he described as roughly $2.8 trillion in MBS. He said his priorities would include risk management, policy execution and outreach to attract global capital into the secondary mortgage market.
Michael Cassidy (testifying as the FHA/Office of Housing nominee) said his top priorities are to streamline and modernize FHA loan programs, remove unnecessary barriers, and reduce processing times so transactions take weeks instead of months. Cassidy told senators the Office of Housing and FHA are taking inventory of program bottlenecks and highlighted an “express lane” pilot to accelerate certain health‑care related reviews.
Several senators focused on staffing and program delivery. Senator Tina Smith said she was concerned that a reported HUD reduction‑in‑force of about 400 employees has weakened the Office of Housing Counseling; Cassidy said those reductions are under litigation and declined to give details but pledged to work with states, local nonprofits and Congress to support counseling services. Cassidy also repeated the administration’s stated objective of creating efficiencies across FHA while maintaining the Insurance Fund’s financial soundness.
Committee members pressed on underused tools to build housing. Senators raised the FHA 221(d)(4) multifamily construction program’s limited use (fewer than 200 projects referenced in committee discussion), and Cassidy said those deals take too long (12–18 months) and that the agency is studying ways to speed approvals to deliver more units.
On reverse‑mortgage related policy, Ginnie Mae said it published a request for information and is coordinating with FHA on the future of reverse mortgage MBS programs to address longstanding operational and financial issues.
The committee did not vote on any confirmation at the hearing. Senators asked nominees to submit written answers to follow‑up questions and to provide additional documents for the record.
