U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge has sworn in Alanna McCargo to serve as the 18th president of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA, or “Ginnie Mae”). This is according to an announcement issued by HUD on Monday.
McCargo, who was confirmed by the United States Senate for the position last month, previously served as vice president of the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center to Marketplace. She moved to a role within the Biden administration at HUD as senior advisor for housing finance in early 2021 before being nominated by the president for the leadership position at Ginnie Mae in September.
“It is an honor to lead Ginnie Mae through its next phase of transformation, ensuring our mortgage-backed securities (MBS) remains a secure, nimble, and reliable vehicle to support the U.S. mortgage market and continues to make affordable homeownership and rental housing available for millions of households and our veterans,” said McCargo in a statement. “I am joining a solid and committed team that has maintained stability and results for the American people through the pandemic and very trying economic times. I look forward to working with the team and Secretary Fudge to strengthen Ginnie Mae’s impact and advance our important mission.”
Upon news of her confirmation in the Senate, National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) President Steve Irwin congratulated McCargo and described anticipation in working with her in the future.
“It has been more than four years since Ginnie Mae last had a permanent president, so her confirmation comes at a critical time when we need someone with solid leadership skills and a keen understanding of the public/private nature of the HECM program at the helm,” Irwin said in December. “We look forward to working with Alanna and her management team in the coming year on important HMBS issues.”
As alluded to by Irwin, the position of Ginnie Mae president has not had a permanent appointee since 2017, when Ted Tozer resigned from the position effective on January 20, 2017 when President Donald Trump was sworn into office. Tozer was nominated for the position in 2009 shortly after Barack Obama became president.
Michael Bright was appointed interim president of Ginnie Mae by President Trump who also nominated him for the full-time position, but Bright abruptly resigned and saw Maren Kasper take his place as interim president. Kasper herself also abruptly resigned to take a job in the private sector in late 2019, reportedly after another Trump administration official — Lynne Patton — attempted to have Kasper removed from the administration according to reporting at the Washington Post.
After President Trump left office, Patton was later found to have violated government ethics rules for her involvement in the creation of a political video.
