Trump administration appoints free market champion Mark Calabria to OMB post: CEI statement

The Trump administration has appointed free market advocate Mark Calabria as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Associate Director for Treasury, Housing, and Commerce. CEI’s finance policy director John Berlau praised the appointment as a good harbinger for housing policies.

Statement by John Berlau:

“The appointment of Mark Calabria will greatly benefit America’s housing and financial markets that serve consumers, investors and entrepreneurs. Calabria, who has spoken at CEI events and on our ‘Free the Economy’ podcast, has long fought for free-market principles both as a policy scholar and public official. 

“As director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency from 2019 to 2021, Calabria served taxpayers and the housing market well in his oversight of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He halted and then helped reverse the Third Amendment ‘net worth sweep’ that left the GSEs stripped of capital and at risk of needing another massive taxpayer bailout. His ‘regulatory capital framework’ set a course for privatization of the GSEs that reduces their competitive advantages over private housing finance entities. Calabria also stood up to housing industry lobbyists and said ‘no’ to many requests for bailouts and subsidies during the Covid pandemic.

“We look forward to working with Calabria in his return to public service to help root out red tape in financial and housing regulation and to reverse the costly and destructive subsidies holding back these economic sectors.”