Mark A. Calabria

Mark Calabria
Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency
In office
April 9, 2019 – June 23, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byMel Watt
Succeeded bySandra L. Thompson
Personal details
BornVirginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationGeorge Mason University (PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsFinance
Banking
Housing
InstitutionsCato Institute
Doctoral advisorRichard E. Wagner

Mark Anthony Calabria was the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).[1] He was formerly the chief economist for Vice President Mike Pence.[2] President Biden removed him from the FHFA on June 23, 2021, following the Supreme Court decision in Collins v. Yellen.[3]

Career

On February 9, 2017, Calabria was selected by Vice President Mike Pence to serve as his chief economist.[4]

Before that, Calabria was the Director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute; a member of the senior staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, where he handled issues related to housing, mortgage finance, economics, banking and insurance for Ranking Member Richard Shelby; a staffer on the Senate Banking Committee under Chairman Phil Gramm;[5] and a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory Affairs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also held a variety of positions at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Realtors and the U.S. Census Bureau's Center for Economic Studies.[6]

Calabria is a frequent commentator in the media. He has appeared on C-SPAN's Book TV, CNBC's the Kudlow Report & Street Signs, Fox affiliate WTTG News, NBC affiliate WDSU News, and WOR's Steve Malzberg Show.[6] He has also written for Forbes, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post.

Calabria has also testified before Congress. In testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services in September 2009, he said that "the current foreclosure relief efforts have largely been unsuccessful because they have misidentified the underlying causes of mortgage default. It is not exploding ARMs or predatory lending that drives the current wave of foreclosures, but negative equity driven by house prices declines coupled with adverse income shocks that are the main driver of defaults on primary residences."[7]

Calabria has been noted by the media for his pro-free market views.[8]

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Calabria sworn in as FHFA director". April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. December 11, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019 – via National Archives.
  3. ^ Calabria, Mark (23 June 2021). "Biden will replace the head of the federal housing agency in the wake of a Supreme Court decision". New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  4. ^ Woellert, Lorraine (February 9, 2017). "Pence hires libertarian Calabria as chief economist". Politico. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  5. ^ "2006 National Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit Presenter and Moderator Biographies" (PDF). National AIDS Housing Coalition. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Mark A. Calabria". Cato Institute. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  7. ^ 09/09/09 Testimony of Calabria before the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity
  8. ^ Ackerman, Andrew (April 28, 2020). "Coronavirus Tests Housing Regulator's Free-Market Views". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
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Political offices
Preceded by Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency
2019–2021 		Succeeded by