Trump Pitches Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Privatization

With headlines swirling about foreign planes and a “big, beautiful bill,” Donald Trump took time on Wednesday to turn attention towards a regular discussion in real estate circles: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s future.

Trump said he was giving “very serious consideration” to the idea of privatizing the government-controlled enterprises, the Wall Street Journal reported. Discussions on the topic were reported to be happening within the administration back in March.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing very well, throwing off a lot of CASH, and the time would seem to be right,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump added that he would be “making a decision in the near future” and planned to speak with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte about it.

Pershing Square CEO and frequent Trump supporter Bill Ackman responded to Trump’s missive on X with a simple thumbs-up emoji.

A couple of months ago, the administration was reportedly entertaining a proposal to transfer the Treasury Department’s ownership of the mortgage companies to a sovereign wealth fund. Trump announced the sovereign wealth fund, but it has yet to come to fruition.

One proposal floated around government circles suggests the enterprises could raise between $20 billion and $30 billion from investors, estimating they could be valued at more than $330 billion combined. That would put the government’s stake in the enterprises at more than $250 billion, a potential windfall for the government.

Privatization has been a discussion since the mortgage giants fell under government control in 2008. During Trump’s first administration, an effort to take the enterprises private fell by the wayside in the waning days of his presidency.

Freddie and Fannie bundle and sell mortgages, backstopped by the government. Some see placing them back in private control as a dangerous prospect, as one wrong move in the process could cause investors to demand higher premiums on the market, which could then lead mortgage rates to spike.

Fannie and Freddie support roughly 70 percent of the country’s mortgage market, according to the National Association of Realtors.

— Holden Walter-Warner