(The Hill) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was considering making two giant government-sponsored home lenders public.
“I am giving very serious consideration to bringing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public,” Trump wrote in a Wednesday post on Truth Social, adding that he would make a decision in the “near future.”
The president unsuccessfully attempted to release the two entities from government control during his first term in 2019.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were originally created by Congress but remained private companies funded by the U.S. Treasury until the housing market crash in 2008.
Trump said the companies are now ready for a change.
“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing very well, throwing off a lot of CASH, and the time would seem to be right. Stay tuned,” the president wrote in his Wednesday post.
Housing affordability remains out of reach for many American families, with the median price of a new single-family home in the U.S. about $460,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), a trade group for residential construction companies.
Mortgage rates sit at 6.5 percent, with current underwriting standards from banks reflecting that the cost is out of range for about three-quarters of all U.S. households, the NAHB found in March.
Experts have warned that privatizing Fannie and Freddie could cause mortgage rates to skyrocket.
However, some advocacy organizations have argued that the move could boost development and expand home ownership opportunities for the middle class.
Trump said he would consult Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency William Pulte before making a final decision on how to move forward.
