That is a good question and the opinion has to be couched in context first.
The position of the FHFA Director is designed by law to be independent of the direct political and operational influence of the President and Congress. That is, neither the President nor the Congress can directly control the FHFA Director's responsibilities as conservator, regulator and receiver. The FHFA Director is not beholden to anyone in any federal or state agency, politically economically and financially, except the US Treasury. The Director can stand alone in his position and make rules and regulations within the scope of HERA. The Federal Housing Finance Oversight Board within the FHFA can advise the Director but can exert any executive functions with the FHFA. and the Board of Directors that have the effect as laws.
The FHFA Director has a five year term that spans presidencies and Congressional session He can be removed for cause by the President if found, and he is vulnerable to litigation via the courts and judiciary. The US Treasury's authority for some financial aspects of the FHFA remain. This is the backdoor where the Executive Branch can influence the GSEs via the Treasury Secretary to send monies and to provide services to the US Treasury programs as written in the law (see HERA, SEC. 1312, 1313, 1117 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/hr3221/text).
During his ongoing tenure as Acting FHFA Director, we have seen DeMarco exercise his authority and power by denying the President of the United States, the Democratic Party, State Attorney Generals, Congress, and numerous outside groups political, economic, and social demands and directions as well as attempts to unseat him. It is a position of great power that allows one person to have under his command 20% of the US GDP.
Besides having experience in financial management or oversight, a demonstrated understanding of capital markets, mortgage securities markets and housing finance, FHFA Director should be able to to act independently of the flow of influences and demands that will inevitably come from the President personally, his administration, from the lawmakers in the House and Senate, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and all others outside of the FHFA.
So we come to Melvin Watt.
Will Melvin Watt act independently, using his own judgement and expertise even if contradictory to the influence and demands of the President, US Treasury, Federal Housing Finance Oversight Board, the Democratic and Republican Parties, the lawmakers of the House and Senate, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, etc.? Will Melvin Watt stand only for the people of the United States and operate the GSEs in accordance with the law without seeking to find loopholes in or violate the law (HERA) or the US constitution? Does Watt have the personal integrity to stand up and refuse anyone who tries to have him do what is not in the best interest of the GSEs and housing finance system? Will Melvin Watt have the capability and expertise to run the FHFA?
It would be a pleasant surprise if Watt proved to be a completely independent FHFA Director that followed the law that defines the scope of his authority and duties. I do not have any certainty that he will do that.
He has been loyal to the President and has voted with the Democratic Party line 94.4% of the time in the 113th Congress (http://www.opencongress.org/people/votes_with_party/house/democrat). He has admitted little knowledge of the technical aspects of mortgage finance and will have to play catch up and be dependent on others advice.
At his introduction and confirmation, Watt vowed to serve the people and the law and to be independent.
However, this position is all new to Watt. It is not a political position. He is a career politician and he knows that. He is not a career technocrat and knows that to. So it is difficult to predict how he will do being a fish out of water. Will he grow the legs and lungs needed for the position of FHFA Director
It is a matter of time to see what Watt does and can do, how he adapts and evolves as the leader of mortgage finance technocrats and multi-trillion dollar business operations.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
