For Immediate Release:
Sept. 29, 2025
Media Contact:
Robert Mayo
hello@woodstockinstitute.org
Proposed repeal of regulations overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would undermine fair access to mortgage credit in underserved communities
CHICAGO – In response to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s proposed rule to repeal Fair Housing, Fair Lending, and Equitable Housing Finance Plan regulations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Jane Doyle, Senior Regulatory Policy Associate at Woodstock Institute, a consumer protection nonprofit, submitted unsparing comments warning that the Trump Administration is sabotaging its own housing crisis agenda in service of an ideological anti-DEI crusade, while also violating the Fair Housing Act.
“The Trump Administration’s attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at the expense of smart housing policy in the midst of an unprecedented national housing crisis is reckless, ill-informed and counter to what a majority of citizens voted for,” Doyle wrote in her September 26 letter to the FHFA.
The FHFA proposal would remove regulations that currently require government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which make up the majority of the secondary market supporting mortgage financing, to create plans for serving underserved communities and ensure fair access to mortgages. These plans are key tools in expanding housing access nationwide – tools the Trump administration appears ready to abandon over semantic objections to the word “equity.”
The FHFA argues that these rules are “redundant” and unnecessary, but Doyle strongly disagrees. She says removing them would:
- Clearly violate the Fair Housing Act
- Hurt both urban and rural communities that rely on fair access to credit
- Abandon effective tools during a worsening housing crisis
- Prioritize political ideology over practical, proven solutions
“With this proposed repeal, the Administration is effectively throwing the baby out with what it sees as the ‘DEI’ bathwater,” Doyle explains. “It doesn’t just impact communities of color or other protected classes. It hurts underserved groups from across the board, from urban Latino families in Houston, Texas to rural White families in Booneville, Kentucky.”
The repeal violates the law, Doyle warned, and abandons the government’s responsibility to ensure fair housing for all. The housing crisis is far-reaching, and does not discriminate based on political partisanship. This is a crisis that is unfolding in every state in the country, and the Administration should be leveraging existing effective policy tools rather than discarding them in an effort to try to score political points.
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About the FHFA Proposal: The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s proposed rule (RIN 2590–AB53) would repeal regulations requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop Fair Housing, Fair Lending, and Equitable Housing Finance Plans. Critics argue the repeal violates the FHFA’s statutory duties under the Fair Housing Act and undermines efforts to address the national housing crisis by eliminating tools specifically designed to expand access to mortgage credit for underserved communities.
Woodstock Institute is a leading policy and research nonprofit that advocates for consumer financial protection and community economic development. Our work seeks to combat structural inequities and to improve the quality of life in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Among our areas of focus are predatory lending, access to banking, debt collection, and municipal fines and fees.
