Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[obiterdictum]

The safest and best way for Democrats to perpetuate control over the GSEs would be having a Watt in the FHFA or whatever the FHFA morphes into. Then, nothing else should be done and they won't care about releasing them from c-ship. But to make sure nothing happens to the companies in a post-conservatorship world they have to wait for Republicans to exhaust all their options and talk and threats. Something that will render them inoperative. Then, their power to try to control the entities through Congress will have become null.

Yes. If Watt is confirmed, then the Administration has a front door and back door to walk through into the FHFA.

If Watt gets in, the Republicans will mount further legislative effort to end the FHFA. Corker's bill proposes to do just that already and by doing so end the Executive Branch door ways into an independent agency.

Certainly, with Watt and Lew on board the FHFA train, the President will be able to ride more comfortably with the GSEs. He and his staff will be able to get whatever info they need on internal operations without resistance. Plans can be made and carried out with concern for leaks and blowback.

There is no reason that the conservatorship continue, especially with the US Treasury draining the GSEs. GSE restructuring can go on and they can be released and with protective conditions that will not allow them to be dissolved or liquidated and thus free and clear of direct US Congress legislative control.

Yes. The Republicans and Democrats who would like abolish, liquidate, and otherwise eliminate the GSEs have an option, only one recourse to carry out their agenda - write legislation. That is their power - to control people, entities, processes and things through legislative acts. To do that they need networked connections of all types to gain and spread influence.. Barring those two, what real power do they have? Yes, talking and blustering, huffing and puffing, threatening, etc.

Well, that is what happens, they try to legislate control and to do that they need votes and to get votes they need money, promises of that, and to do that they need networked connections to those inside and outside Washington and politics. They fail when their bills go nowhere. The bills go nowhere because they cannot muster votes of their colleagues by principle, platform, ideology, payment, favors called in, blackmail, whatever it takes and so on. So, yes, options, talk, threats and then.... slumped in a chair exhausted. Null. The only thing left is the energy to oppose, filibuster, delay, confuse, scare, threaten, rile up and all those tactics of the powerless.

At their exhaustion, political moves will be made. Now, there is no time to play this game any longer. A political squeeze for GSE reform is forming.