Senate banking committee advances nominees to lead FHA, Ginnie Mae

The top leadership positions at Ginnie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have been empty for most of the past year, but the long wait to fill the seats may soon come to an end.

On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs advanced the nominations of Joseph Gormley as president of Ginnie Mae and Frank Cassidy as FHA commissioner to a full Senate vote.

The news drew a response from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), which called for lawmakers to confirm Gormley and Cassidy quickly.

“Frank Cassidy’s deep expertise in real estate finance and commitment to improving housing affordability make him exceptionally qualified to lead FHA,” MBA president and CEO Bob Broeksmit said in a statement. “Joe Gormley’s leadership and extensive experience in housing policy and mortgage capital markets will be invaluable to Ginnie Mae’s mission of ensuring liquidity and stability in the mortgage market.

“MBA looks forward to working with both leaders once confirmed to strengthen the housing finance system, expand access to homeownership and rental housing, and support policies that promote housing affordability for families nationwide.”

David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference (NHC), issued a statement of support for Gormley, Cassidy and Travis Hill, who also advanced Wednesday as the nominee to chair the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

“NHC is confident that each of these nominees will serve with integrity, skill, and dedication to the best interests of the American people. We urge the full Senate to take up these nominations without delay and confirm them as soon as possible,” Dworkin said.

Confirmation hearings for the candidates were held in late October, with the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) expressing its “strong and unwavering” support for Cassidy and Gormley at the time.

NRMLA President Steve Irwin noted that the FHA’s mission to insure Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) and Ginnie Mae’s role to guarantee HECM mortgage-backed securities (HMBS) are vital to the health of the reverse mortgage market.

Support for the nominees isn’t unanimous. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — the ranking member of the banking committee — issued a statement ahead of voting in which she claimed Gormley and Cassidy had “troubling responses” to questions posed at the hearings.

Specifically related to Gormley, Warren said that he “refused to acknowledge the potential effects of Trump’s efforts to reprivatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Ginnie Mae.”

In relation to Cassidy, Warren accused him of failing to “leverage public input in the policymaking process, eliminating language access requirements, and other questionable decisions made during his time at HUD.” The senator also said Cassidy “doubled down” in supporting the administration’s plan to eliminate the federal budget for rental housing assistance programs.

Ginnie Mae had been developing an alternative securitization program, dubbed HMBS 2.0, with a final term sheet for the offering released in November 2024. But its progress was stalled after the 2024 election, with different policy priorities under the Trump administration — along with staff cuts and the lack of a permanent president at Ginnie Mae — potentially playing a role.

The reverse mortgage industry was also hampered by the recent federal government shutdown that lasted 43 days, as the FHA paused new endorsements of HECM loans.

If confirmed, Gormley would become the first permanent president at Ginnie Mae since Alanna McCargo departed in May 2024. Sam Valverde took over as acting president but resigned late last year, shortly after Donald Trump won a second term in the White House. Gregory Keith was named acting president at that time.

Gormley — who served at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and FHA during the first Trump administration — has been at Ginnie Mae since April, when he was hired as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

At an MBA conference the following month, Gormley said that fears of a staffing shortage at the government-owned corporation were unfounded. Ginnie Mae had more than 200 employees at that point and was “able to meet all of our operational commitments,” he said.

Cassidy joined HUD in April as principal deputy assistant secretary and was nominated as FHA commissioner in August. He has an extensive background in commercial real estate finance, with prior roles at firms like Walker & Dunlop, Newmark Knight Frank and Berkeley Point Capital.

FHA has been without a permanent commission since the resignation of Julia Gordon in January prior to Trump taking office.