Dems renew call for new FHFA head

House Democrats are renewing their push for the president to finally nominate a permanent head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

In a letter sent to the White House Thursday, a group of 45 Democrats called on President Obama to finally replace Edward DeMarco as the acting head of the agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The group was spearheaded by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.

"We believe your reelection is a prime opportunity to put forth a new candidate who is ready and willing to implement all of Congress' directives to meet the critical challenges still facing our nation's housing markets," they wrote.

Democrats have long been frustrated with DeMarco, who has resisted efforts to extend more assistance to struggling homeowners. As caretaker of the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), DeMarco has maintained that efforts such as principal reduction are not in the best interests of their finances, and that there are more cost-effective ways to provide assistance.

Democrats contend that DeMarco is letting his ideological outlook get in the way of empirical policy.

"Mr. DeMarco has demonstrated that he is not interested in obtaining real-world evidence that might contradict his pre-established views," they wrote.

The White House was stymied in its original attempt to replace DeMarco back in 2010. Their original nominee, Joseph Smith, was blocked by Republicans who accused him of being an "administration lapdog." The administration let that nomination expire with the close of the 111th Congress, and did not put forward any other nominee in the 112th.

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