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FHA has performed heroically several times in
our nation's past, especially after the housing
market collapsed in 2007 and 2008, when
FHA stepped in."
TAKING ON TERM NO. 2
Montgomery's ascension to the FHA's top
position wasn't an easy one, to say the least.
Despite his previous tenure as commissioner
from 2005 to 2009—he served under Presidents
George W. Bush and Barack Obama—his
experience didn't exactly make for the smooth
second confirmation most would expect.
His most recent Senate confirmation
hearing? Montgomery said it was almost the
complete opposite of his first one.
"I'd been at the White House and I had
already been vetted, so that side of it was fairly
quick," he said of his 2005 confirmation. "I was
able get through a process up on the Senate
known as unanimous consent. I got through the
committee without any objection."
e first time around, the process took a
mere 60 to 65 days, he said. is time, the
gap between Montgomery's appointment—
which took place in September 2017—and his
eventual confirmation on May 23, 2018, was a
whopping eight months.
"is most recent time, the hearing was the
complete opposite," Montgomery said. "I'm
the same person, right? Assistant secretaries
and commissioners would typically go through
unanimous consent. is go-around they're
doing the 30-hour rule for almost every
nominee. at's 30 hours of debate."
During his most recent Senate confirmation
hearing, the Trump appointee faced opposition
from Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod
Brown, both who questioned his past work
with e Collingwood Group—which helped
some of the nation's biggest lenders navigate
programmatic and legal challenges. ey also
called into question his ability to put aside
potential conflicts— particularly with past
Collingwood clients like U.S. Bank and Wells
Fargo—should he be confirmed.
"Can you
imagine a
$10- to $11
billion-dollar
company not
having a CEO
for four years?"
—Brian Montgomery, Commissioner, FHA
DS News Editor-in-Chief Rachel Williams and FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery
discuss the role of the Federal Housing Administration.
