With millions still on the verge of losing their homes, why is the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency standing in the way of solutions for the housing crisis?
Katrina vanden HeuvelEditor’s Note: Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.
He is the most powerful federal employee you’ve never heard of. Edward DeMarco has slowed the economic recovery with the stroke of a pen. His actions are costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, forcing millions of homeowners to lose their homes, and contributing to the falling housing prices that are a brake on the recovery.
Not bad for an obscure “acting director” who should have departed his position long ago.
Edward DeMarco heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). He’s a temp, in office only because—no surprise—Senate Republicans, led by Richard Shelby (Ala.), refused even to allow a vote on the man President Obama nominated for the post.
And DeMarco is philosophically opposed to the common-sense solutions needed to deal with the housing crisis.
Editor’s Note: Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.
Katrina vanden HeuvelTwitterKatrina vanden Heuvel is editorial director and publisher of The Nation, America’s leading source of progressive politics and culture. She served as editor of the magazine from 1995 to 2019.