Trump’s nominee for FHFA director has drawn strong support from some quarters, but also some reservations.

For hours, it was unclear whether a White House memo freezing federal funding would impact mortgage programs. In the meantime, government agencies announced that their single-family mortgage programs were unaffected by the planned funding pause.

The Trump administration will likely take starkly different positions on housing and the mortgage market compared with the Biden administration. Expect changes at the GSEs, while a reduction to FHA mortgage insurance premiums looks unlikely.

Republicans, who have long opposed the bi-merge credit scoring model, now control Congress. That, combined with Trump’s “regulatory freeze,” could spell the end of this part of credit report reform.

WaFd Bank is ending its mortgage origination activity; TD Bank is considering selling jumbo mortgages; some banks are still increasing their mortgage business; President Trump issues order on housing, freezes regulatory efforts.

The two programs have been updated to promote innovation, competition, ethics and transparency.

Given the financial and political hurdles that stand in the way of releasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship, it may be only a second- or third-tier issue for the Trump administration.

The FHFA director joins a number of financial regulators resigning from their posts before the second Trump administration begins.

Critics argue that, if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are released from conservatorship without an explicit government guarantee, MBS investors will demand wider spreads to cover the added credit risk.

Lenders doubt the changes agreed to by FHFA and Treasury will hasten the end of the conservatorships; they may even delay it.