President Donald Trump speaks during a bill signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, December 12, 2025.
Francis Chung | Political | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Thursday he is “directing my representatives” to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds, claiming it will lower interest rates and monthly payments.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was issuing the directive because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored mortgage lenders, have plenty of cash.
It was unclear who Trump referred to as his representatives. The White House and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for clarity.
FHFA Director Bill Pulte wrote on X later Thursday: “We’re in. Thanks to President Trump, Fannie and Freddie will be executed.”
Hours before Trump’s post, Pulte said in a CNBC interview that he expected Trump to make a decision on a potential Fannie and Freddie IPO in the next month or two.
Trump claimed that his latest directive would help restore “affordability,” a word that has become a key part of Democrats’ political messaging as they accuse the Republican president of failing to address high prices.
Trump was heavily critical of his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration, claiming Biden had “ignored the housing market” amid a series of other policy failures.
“Everything was broken, but I, as President of the United States, already fixed it!” Trump explained. “Now I’m paying special attention to the housing market.”
“Because in my first term I decided not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a truly great decision, and contrary to the advice of the ‘experts’ it is now worth many times that amount – AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE – and has $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH,” he wrote.
“That’s why I’m directing my representatives to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds.”
It was not clear from Trump’s post whether Fannie and Freddie, the Treasury Department or another entity would make the purchase.
The Federal Reserve has historically purchased mortgage bonds to lower interest rates as part of a monetary policy known as quantitative easing. But the executive branch cannot order the independent central bank to initiate these transactions.
The Treasury has historically purchased mortgage bonds during times of extreme turmoil, such as the housing crisis of 2008 and 2009.
It was also not clear whether this purchase would affect mortgage rates. The Fed’s quantitative easing typically involves purchases of multiple types of securities, with larger amounts being placed in Treasury bonds to lower long-term Treasury bond interest rates.
Mortgage interest rates are typically based on long-term government bond rates rather than mortgage bond yields.
The yield on 10-year government bonds fell slightly after trading due to Trump’s comments.