Privatizing Fannie Mae is risky. Would it be a win for taxpayers or Trump’s donors?

February 3, 2026    By Chris Arnold & Scott Neuman

After a turbulent first year of President Trump’s return to the White House, 2026 could bring something singularly disruptive in the housing and mortgage markets: a partial sale of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage giants that underpin roughly 70% of U.S. home loans.

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James Lockhart, a former FHFA director appointed by President George W. Bush, says investors could profit by owning Fannie and Freddie stock from before the 2008 crash, but the government was on the hook for far too much risk. He says it was “heads, the shareholders win; tails, the taxpayers lose.”

Lockhart says that equation should be fixed before Fannie and Freddie are released. Given their systemic importance, Fannie and Freddie will always have some sort of implicit backing by the government.

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/03/nx-s1-5615175/fannie-freddie-housing-pulte-trump-donors