'Shameful': Warren Warns Trump Plan to Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Would Make Housing Crisis Worse

Sen. Elizabeth Warren warned Friday that the Trump administration’s new plan to privatize the two government-controlled entities that back half of the nation’s mortgages would make it even more difficult for working class families to purchase a home.

“In the middle of a housing affordability crisis, when the gap between the black and white homeownership rates is as big as it was when housing discrimination was legal, the Trump administration wants to make it harder for creditworthy working families—especially families of color—to buy a home and build wealth,” Warren, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement. “That’s shameful.”

The Trump administration’s sprawling housing proposal, unveiled Thursday by former Goldman Sachs banker and current Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, would privatize mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two companies were taken over by the government after they nearly collapsed during the financial crisis of 2008.

As the Washington Post reported Thursday, “housing experts have warned that allowing [Fannie and Freddie] too much freedom again could lead to higher mortgage costs for consumers while enriching Wall Street investors.”

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) echoed that warning on Twitter, saying the Trump administration’s plan “will make mortgages more expensive and harder to get.”