Representative Melvin L. Watt, (D-North Carolina), was confirmed in a 57-40 by the U.S. Senate to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, after a Republican filibuster to block the vote was torpedoed by Senate Majoirty Leader Harry Reid.
A member of Congress since since 1993 and who has been confirmed as the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Watt is an attorney from Charlotte, North Carolina, Watt previously served one term as a state Senator and served as campaign manager for former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt.
FHFA, among other agencies, administers or has oversight for the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.[1][2] The U.S. Senate confirmed Watt on December 10, 2013.[3]
“Housing is one of the most vital aspects of our economy and we are confident in the experience Congressman Watt will bring to the FHFA,” stated President Patricia Rosier. “Today is an exciting day for us all — the confirmations of both Congressman Watt and Patricia Millett serve as a reminder that our leaders are ready to work together and move this country forward.”
Watt has served as a member of the congressional committee that oversees housing policy for two decades. He will bring the wisdom needed to protect and stimulate growth within the housing market and the country’s economy.
According to the Washington Post, named one of the most liberal House Democrats, Watt has made a name for himself as an unapologetically vocal minority-rights leader.
The former Congressional Black Caucus chairman has voted for equal pay, women’s reproductive rights, increased early education funding and anti-discriminatory employment legislation.
A Wall Street Journal blog said Republicans don’t want Watt because they’re displeased that the White House nominated a politician to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which serves as the warden of Fannie and Freddie, the mortgage-finance giants that were taken over by the government five years ago. The agency’s director has tremendous power over the companies, and Republicans don’t like the idea of a “political person” running two companies that have a long history of being used for political purposes by Washington.
Second, Republicans don’t know much about what Watt, a close ally of the administration, would do as the independent regulator of Fannie and Freddie. Watt is well liked by his House colleagues.
But some senators wanted President Barack Obama to name a “technocrat.” (Democrats have been quick to point out that Obama’s first nominee for the FHFA job in 2010 was a technocrat—Joseph A. Smith Jr., then the North Carolina banking commissioner—who also ran into Republican opposition and withdrew).
Finally, Republicans like Edward DeMarco, the career civil servant who became the agency’s acting director when the political appointee who previously ran the agency resigned in 2009. DeMarco has narrowly interpreted his mandate to conserve the assets of Fannie and Freddie, at times butting heads with the Obama administration over homeowner-relief programs.
