WASHINGTON — President Obama's nomination of Democratic Rep. Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency is in jeopardy after Senate Republicans successfully blocked a final confirmation vote on the potential chief regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey said he wanted to prevent a final vote on the nomination because of Watt's lack of managerial experience and his support of policies Toomey said caused the failure of Fannie and Freddie, including tougher capital standards and affordable housing goals. "Unfortunately, Congressman Watt still supports these policies," said Toomey Thursday morning on the floor of the Senate during a debate on whether to proceed to a final vote.
Toomey joined other Republican opponents to the Watt nomination, including Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. "He is a good man up for the wrong job," said Alexander.
Toomey expressed many of the same concerns as Republican senators did when they filibustered the nomination of Richard Cordray to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for more than a year. The Pennsylvania senator said the Congress has little power to oversee the presidential appointee and its budget. "The regulator has virtually unchecked powers," said Toomey.
Republicans, which have 45 seats in the Senate, will need just 40 votes to block a final vote, or filibuster, the Watt nomination. So Democrats will need to pick up a few Republican votes to move towards final confirmation. The Senate is expected to vote later today whether to proceed with a final vote on the Watt nomination.
The fight over the Watt nomination comes as Republican senators are vowing to also block the President's nomination of Patricia Millett to serve on the prestigious D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The controversy over the Watt nomination comes as the debate is heating up in Congress over the future of Fannie and Freddie, the key players in the secondary mortgages market which have been under federal conservatorship since September 2008.
Watt, an 11-term congressman and senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, would succeed acting FHFA Director Edward DeMarco, one of the few holdovers from the Bush administration, who has expressed support for the wind down of Fannie and Freddie and their replacement with privately backed entities.
