MBANow: MBA President & CEO Stevens Discusses Carson Nomination on MSNBC

The Mortgage Bankers Association released a new MBANow video on YouTube in which MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, appears on MSNBC to discuss the Trump Administration’s nomination of Ben Carson as HUD Secretary.

The video can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCQ_syMfo8g&feature=em-uploademail.

During the interview, Stevens reiterated MBA’s support of Carson’s nomination, saying that it’s “rare” that HUD nominees have actual housing experience (Stevens served previously as FHA Commissioner under HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan during the Obama Administration).

“I don’t think that on its own is a disqualifier,” Stevens said. “You want someone who is going to be focused on housing; who has leadership skills and who at least has the ability to pick up this information quickly. I’m going with the view that we have a new president coming into the White House; he has the ability to pick his Cabinet and fill these posts. And barring something truly outrageous they are going to get confirmed.”

MBSNC host Richard Lui noted opposition to Carson’s nomination from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the NAACP, which has cited concerns over Carson’s past comments about public housing (Carson said growing up in Detroit, his mother worked hard to keep the Carson family out of public housing because of the poor quality of living and high crime rate). Stevens said in conversations last week with Carson, he committed to working on a strong public housing policy.

“Give the guy a chance to do his job,” Stevens said. “HUD’s a very complex agency to run, so he’s coming in with a big job on his hands…he needs to surround himself with really talented people in the assistant secretary and deputy secretary roles and get them confirmed, because those positions allow him to be most effective. Second, he also has to have a clear vision for HUD…to focus on the right outcomes. And third, he has to give confidence to lenders and realtors to begin thinking about access to credit concerns, particularly where credit is tight.”

These and other videos in the MBANow series can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swk2VUJeZFI&feature=em-uploademail. The videos are also available on the MBA Insights landing page, https://www.mba.org/publications/insights/insights-publication##SubscriberID####RND##&PageID=21109.