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Senate Weighs Federal Housing Commissioner Nominee

The U.S. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a nomination hearing on Dana T. Wade, who was nominated for the position of Federal Housing Commissioner. 

“As I look around this hearing room, I see the Senate continuing the people’s work but under very different circumstances,” Wade said during her opening statement. “If confirmed, I will commit to do everything I can as FHA Commissioner to help the country emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic healthier, stronger, and with a more prosperous economy.”

Chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), said in a pool report following the meeting that a vote could come soon, but no date was set. 

Wade said that she decided to join the public service in the midst of the Great Recession more than a decade ago, which gave her experience she can use today. 

“I learned that during times like these, it is important to make sure assistance quickly reaches those in need and that we maximize the effectiveness of every Federal dollar,” she said. 

Wade was nominated [1]for the position of Federal Housing Commissioner by President Donald Trump in February. 

Wade was previously the acting Federal Housing Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing from July 2017 to June 2018. She supervised more than 2,400 employees and implemented risk management and monitoring of the Federal Housing Agency’s $1.3 trillion portfolios.

She also served as a Program Associate Director for General Government at the Office of Management and Budget from December 2018 to December 2019, where she led budget oversight for six Executive Branch agencies with a focus on financial services, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

“Dana Wade is a spectacular individual who has been enormously valuable to President Trump and this Department," said Dr. Benjamin Carson, Secretary of HUD. "We appreciate Brian Montgomery’s continued stable leadership and are elated with Dana’s nomination. We look forward to Dana’s very capable, guiding hand at FHA and urge the Senate to swiftly confirm her.”

While many senators voiced support of Wade, some during the meeting—which was held virtually—questioned prior decisions made related to fair housing laws. 

U.S. Senator Ranking Member of the Banking Committee Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was most vocal about her time spent at the Office and Management and Budget, where the office reviewed and approved two rules that would undermine the Fair Housing Act, a rule the HUD's analysis said would cost the federal government more money. 

In response to questions about previous time spent at the FHA, she said housing discrimination of any kind is “intolerable” and she would do everything she can to enforce fair housing laws. 

“That is my commitment,” she said.