Although the term of GSE regulator Mel Watt doesn’t end until January of next year, the White House is reportedly already contemplating who will be the proper “conservative” choice to take over as regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to industry stakeholders intimately involved in GSE issues, one candidate to be the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency is Mark Calabria, chief economist to Vice President Mike Pence. Calabria, a frequent GSE critic, is well-schooled on housing-finance issues – and the industry’s history. One observer said the choice would mirror the pick of conservative Mick Mulvaney to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.