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President Trump’s Housing Focus in First 30 Days

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The 30-day mark for President Trump Administration has come and gone, TheMReport decided to take stock of what has been accomplished in the areas that affect our readers the most—housing and mortgage.

First and foremost, during his first 30 days President Trump implemented an Executive Order that calls for the review of Dodd-Frank. This is his first step in fulfilling his campaign promise to peel back the banking law.

Also during his first 30 days, President Trump saw his Treasury Secretary pick confirmed. Steven Mnuchin, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, is now the 77th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, assuming the position from Henry Paulson.

However, Trump has not yet had equal success seeing the confirmation of his HUD nominee. The president first proposed Dr. Ben Carson on December 5 but his nomination still needs to be approved by the Senate.

Carson is considered a wild card choice for HUD Secretary due to his having no background in government or housing.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) however does not feel this should be an impediment, saying “HUD will benefit from having a Secretary with a different perspective and a diverse background, and I’m excited to support Dr. Carson.”

“Throughout my life, I have done things that many deemed impossible,” Carson said in his confirmation hearing two weeks ago, “I pledge to work with this Committee and the dedicated career staff at HUD to solve difficult, seemingly obstinate issues and address the needs of those who rely on the services provided by HUD.”

During his time in office, the Bureau of Labor statistics reported an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent with 227,000 jobs added. "President Trump is inheriting an economy on its way to full employment, but there is still more work to do," Elise Gould [1], an economist at the Economic Policy Institute said.

“While 30 days doesn't provide an entirely clear picture for predicting and projecting with any real accuracy, the very positive messages coming from leaders like Steve Mnuchin, Gary Cohn, and Ben Carson suggest that we may see the return to a government that embraces the role of stimulating and supporting the housing sector of the economy, rather than one that works hard to suppress and supplant private market lending activities,” said Meg Burns, Partner with The Collingwood Group. “Americans could certainly benefit from a shift in tone and tenor in D.C.; citizens and businesses alike would be well served by a renewed emphasis on home ownership as a powerful economic driver and recognition of the role of government in making that possible,” concluded Burns.

In these areas alone it is clear that Trump’s first 30 days have been impactful and we will be following closely what the next 30—and the following 1,398—bring.