The Federal Housing Administration could have an official, Senate-approved leader by the end of this week, a senior advisor at the Department of Housing and Urban Development said Tuesday.
Speaking at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference, which is going on right now in Miami, HUD Senior Advisor for Multifamily Housing Programs Robert Iber said Tuesday that he was told that a full Senate vote on Montgomery’s nomination is expected this week.
Politico financial services reporter Zachary Warmbrodt reported last week that the Senate reached a deal last week to vote on Montgomery this week.
Senators have reached an agreement to vote on FHA nominee Brian Montgomery early next week
— Zachary Warmbrodt (@Zachary) May 17, 2018
Now, it appears that the vote will indeed be coming this week.
A vote on Montgomery’s nomination is listed on the Senate calendar of expected legislative business that was published on May 22. It doesn’t list the exact date when Montgomery’s vote will happen, but Iber said he’s heard the vote is indeed coming this week.
The vote, if it indeed comes this week, would come six months after the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee approved Montgomery’s nomination to lead the FHA.
Montgomery’s nomination was welcomed and encouraged by many in the housing industry.
Back in February, a number of trade groups, private companies, law firms, fair housing advocates, and others, joined together to call on the Senate to bring Montgomery’s nomination to a vote.
The letter, which was sent to the leaders of each party in the Senate, Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Chuck Schumer, D-New York, is signed by Habitat for Humanity, MERSCORP, the MBA, Ballard Spahr, the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Housing Conference, and more.
If he is approved, this would mark Montgomery’s second term as FHA commissioner. He previously held the job under former President George W. Bush, staying on for six months after former President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
In addition to previously serving in the position of assistant secretary for Housing and FHA commissioner at HUD, Montgomery also held a handful of other top positions throughout the government and housing industry, including co-founder and partner at the Collingwood Group, deputy assistant to the president and cabinet secretary, board member on the Federal Housing Finance Board, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Oversight Board, and NeighborWorks America Board.
