The Federal Housing Finance Board is reportedly back in action after a long hiatus, leading to speculation that the Trump administration could be working on taking its next steps forward in contemplating government-sponsored enterprise reform.

The heads of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s conservator and regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Treasury planned to meet privately Tuesday.

GSE regulator Bill Pulte hasn’t said much about the meeting since announcing it last month, but some lawmakers said it’s the first in several years and could lead to changes for the influential GSEs, which buy and securitize many of the mortgages originated in the United States.

What some legislators want to know about plans for GSEs

“Given the significant implications of potential reprivatization of the enterprises, the public would benefit from your agencies proactively releasing information about the June 17th meeting,” six Democrats in the Senate said in a letter to meeting participants.

“Doing so would demonstrate your commitment to promoting board transparency and accountability, especially given that the board has not met since 2017 and from which information had to be requested under the Freedom of Information Act,” they added.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Andy Kim, D-N.J.; Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Ralph Wyden, D-Ore.: and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga, signed the letter. Warren is the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee.

Legislative views could be pertinent if GSE reform requires them to approve changes to Fannie and Freddie’s statutory authorities, but currently Republicans dominate federal government and Congress, and officials are generally expected to favor an administrative approach.

Officials’ statements to date about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac goals

In regard to transparency, Pulte told attendees at a Mortgage Bankers Association’s conference in New York last month he has been using social media to post immediately with the high-level messages about his new developments to avoid delay in getting information out. 

Pulte also has said current GSE reform proposals under President Trump are unlikely to mean full “privatization,” making a spinoff in which the government sells off some shares while retaining a stake in the now-profitable entities it took into conservatorship in 2008 more likely.

(Treasury currently holds preferred shares in Fannie and Freddie and has warrants to purchase nearly 80% of their stock.)

Given other statements President Trump, Pulte, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and SEC Chair Paul Atkins have previously made individually, other strategic goals they may discuss at a meeting around GSE reform could include:

HUD and Ginnie Mae’s current role in housing reform

The legislators called for more information on all these items and whether housing reform could also encompass plans for Ginnie Mae, a separate government corporation within HUD responsible for guaranteeing mortgage securities that other public entities back at the loan level.

Some past iterations of GSE reform have contemplated folding Ginnie into the mix or using it as a model for alternative structures for Fannie and Freddie.

But the current Trump administration’s main goals for Ginnie and HUD and to date in regard to Fannie and Freddie reform appears to be more advisory, and potential around coordinating movements the two make that have implications for the broader market.

The GSEs and Ginnie/HUD currently dominate the secondary mortgage market and changes in either of the two segments often influences the other.

HUD Chairman Scott Turner, a former football player, has described his role in reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as that of a quarterback.