Politics

In comments to reporters, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., underscored what she said was a conflict of interest between Elon Musk's DOGE's actions at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and his business interests with X Money.

A stop-work order from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's newly appointed acting director Russell Vought has created uncertainty about the future of consumer-oriented enforcement activity.

Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, the president was asked if he wanted to eliminate the bureau. "I would say, yeah," Trump replied. "Because we're trying to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse."

A former Biden official called the bureau protection against another housing crisis. The current White House calls it a "weaponized arm of the bureaucracy."

The government-sponsored enterprises were not meant to remain in conservatorship permanently, but privatizing them once again must include a new set of rules that minimize market disruptions and maximize their focus on making homeownership affordable.

A survey of senior bank officers at community banks by fintech firm IntraFi found bankers nearly evenly divided on the idea of merging federal bank regulators, while an overwhelming 93% support maintaining agency independence.

The acting leader is a co-author of the conservative playbook in which a former Fannie Mae and HUD director calls for abolishing the regulator.

A rally outside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters in Washington Monday afternoon boasted 17 lawmakers and roughly 600 attendees, organizers said, who were decrying Trump administration efforts to effectively shutter the bureau.

McKernan, a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s board of directors, offered measured resistance to Biden-era bank regulation and led on a number of issues including cracking down on the influence of asset managers who hold stakes in FDIC-insured banks.

Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Russell Vought ordered bureau employees to "stand down" and perform no work, effective immediately.

Experts said the government-sponsored enterprises could change their tack on some of the innovation seen since the pandemic in loss mitigation, lending and technology.

Newly-confirmed Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, a key architect of Project 2025, has been charged with overseeing an agency Republicans have vowed to eliminate, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

HUD, Ginnie Mae and USDA weighed in on the status of recent actions, some of which could change due to transitions in Washington.

The prospect of both megalenders being released from conservatorship and the downgrading of each firm's respective stock are top of mind for executives.

Mortgage companies under scrutiny could see a reprieve, while the status of functions like behind-the-scenes guidance inquiries is uncertain, experts say.

Mortgage and housing industry groups cheered the U.S. Senate vote, which found only two Democrats crossing over to support Scott Turner's nomination.

As the Federal Reserve's overnight reverse repurchase agreement program nears zero, pressure could mount on the central bank to slow or stop its asset runoff as it fights inflation.

Tom Krause, the chief executive of Cloud Software Group, and Marko Elez, an engineer who has worked for SpaceX and social-media platform X, have offices in the Treasury Department, according to sources.

Some mortgage stakeholders say Trump's tariffs would make interest rates rise and housing costs shoot up.

Donald Trump's second administration is widely expected to be far less skeptical of bank mergers than the Biden administration has been, but industry experts say that political opposition to big bank mergers and business considerations will still be roadblocks.