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Banking Committee Again Advances Montgomery Nomination to Lead FHA

Published on January 17, 2018 by Greg Zagorski
Banking Committee Again Advances Montgomery Nomination to Lead FHA

The Senate Banking Committee voted via voice vote this morning to favorably report the nomination of Brian Montgomery to be Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing. Montgomery’s nomination will now be sent to the full Senate for consideration.

The Committee favorably reported Montgomery’s nomination previously in November by a largely bipartisan vote of 18-5. However, because the Senate did not consider Montgomery’s nomination before recessing for the end of the legislative year, President Trump was required to resubmit the nomination.

While the nomination passed via voice vote, three senators asked to be recorded as voting no: Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). All three opposed Montgomery’s nomination in November, as did Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI). During the November hearing, Brown said that he appreciated Montgomery’s experience and commitment to FHA’s mission. However, he expressed concerns about Montgomery’s intentions to examine FHA’s program rules and requirements, which Brown said could cause FHA to weaken borrower protections.

All Committee Republicans voted in support of Montgomery’s nomination.

The Committee also re-approved via voice vote the nominations of Robert Kurtz to be Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, Jerome Powell to serve as Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Randal Quarles to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. The Committee had previously approved all three nominations last year.

Today’s hearing was the first for new Committee members Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Doug Jones (D-AL).