Trump Nominates Matt Jones to Lead FHA as Mortgage Policy Changes Accelerate

Trump Nominates Matt Jones to Lead FHA as Mortgage Policy Shifts Continue

President Donald Trump has nominated Matthew “Matt” Jones to serve as assistant secretary for housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a position that also carries the role of Federal Housing Administration commissioner.

The White House sent Jones’ nomination to the Senate on Sept. 14, 2026. The nomination was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and requires Senate confirmation.

If confirmed, Jones would take control of FHA at a particularly active point for federal mortgage policy. The agency is preparing to add VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10T to FHA underwriting, has recently changed appraisal and lender requirements, and is continuing a broader effort to revise rules HUD says add unnecessary costs or complexity to FHA lending.

Jones already oversees FHA’s single-family business

The nomination would elevate an official who is already deeply involved in FHA operations.

Jones currently serves as HUD’s deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing. In that role, he oversees FHA’s single-family insurance portfolio and operations involving origination and servicing policy, lender oversight, quality control, institutional risk management and technology strategy.

At the end of fiscal 2025, FHA had active insurance on more than 8.1 million forward mortgages with unpaid principal balances exceeding $1.6 trillion. FHA insured 876,502 single-family forward mortgages during the fiscal year, and first-time buyers accounted for just over 83% of its purchase endorsements.

That means Jones would not be arriving as an outsider learning the agency’s mortgage operations. His elevation would provide a degree of continuity for lenders already adjusting to policy changes made under HUD Secretary Scott Turner.

Before joining HUD, Jones served as associate vice president for government housing finance at the Mortgage Bankers Association, where he oversaw the trade group’s government lending portfolio. He previously worked at Amerifirst Home Mortgage and served as senior counsel to the Senate Banking and Senate Finance committees under Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.

FHA’s credit-score overhaul is approaching

One of the most immediate projects awaiting FHA leadership is the agency’s transition to additional credit-scoring models.

FHA announced Sept. 10 that VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10T will become eligible alongside Classic FICO for certain FHA-insured mortgages beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

The change will apply through an updated version of FHA’s Technology Open To Approved Lenders, or TOTAL, Mortgage Scorecard for Title II forward mortgages with case numbers assigned on or after that date. HUD has told mortgage companies to coordinate with credit and technology providers ahead of implementation.

HUD has characterized the move as a way to increase competition among credit-score providers and potentially broaden access to mortgage credit. Those potential effects will depend on how lenders, credit vendors, automated underwriting systems and investors implement the new options in practice.

For mortgage companies, that makes FHA leadership particularly relevant over the next several months. The agency will need to oversee technical implementation while determining how new scoring options interact with FHA underwriting and risk management.

FHA has been rewriting other lender requirements

Credit scoring is only one part of the current policy agenda.

In June, HUD announced 14 changes to FHA’s single-family mortgage insurance program. The department said the revisions were intended to reduce costs and administrative burdens for borrowers and lenders. HUD said FHA had taken more than 150 actions to streamline its single-family program since the beginning of the Trump administration.

Among other changes, FHA has made appraisal field reviews optional in certain lender quality-control processes. HUD said the previous mandatory review requirement could create costs that outweighed its risk-management benefits.

HUD and the Department of Agriculture also rescinded a 2024 determination that would have applied newer energy-efficiency standards to certain federally backed new construction. The agencies said the requirements could increase construction costs, while the prior policy had been defended as a way to improve energy efficiency and lower long-term utility expenses.

The policy pipeline remains active. On Sept. 22, FHA posted proposed revisions to its minimum property requirements for public feedback, with comments due Nov. 6. The draft is intended to reorganize and update property standards and align them more closely with current industry practices where FHA determines that is appropriate.

FHA enters the transition with a large capital cushion

Jones would also inherit an FHA insurance fund that entered 2026 with capital well above its statutory minimum.

The Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund ended fiscal 2025 with an overall capital ratio of 11.47%, compared with the congressionally mandated 2% minimum. FHA reported $188.9 billion in MMI Fund capital as of Sept. 30, 2025.

The fund’s financial position is closely watched because FHA must balance access to mortgage credit against the risk borne by its insurance fund and taxpayers. Pricing decisions, mortgage insurance premiums, servicing policy and underwriting changes can all affect that balance.

Mortgage industry groups back the nomination

Several major housing and mortgage organizations have publicly supported Jones.

Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit said Jones brings mortgage industry experience, government housing-finance expertise and knowledge of FHA’s operations. MBA said it wants to work with HUD on modernizing FHA programs, reducing regulatory burdens and lowering costs.

The National Association of Realtors also endorsed the nomination, citing Jones’ work at HUD, MBA and the Senate Banking Committee.

The National Housing Conference similarly backed Jones and credited Ginnie Mae President Joe Gormley for handling the duties of assistant secretary for housing and acting FHA commissioner following former Commissioner Frank Cassidy’s departure.

What happens next

Jones’ nomination now sits with the Senate Banking Committee. Senate confirmation would formally place him in charge of FHA while also expanding his responsibilities beyond the single-family operation he currently oversees.

For mortgage lenders, the significance is less about an abrupt change of direction than about who will manage an already-moving policy agenda.

FHA lenders are heading toward a Jan. 1 credit-score transition while simultaneously adapting to revisions involving appraisals, servicing, lender oversight and property standards. If Jones is confirmed, the official already managing much of FHA’s single-family operation would become responsible for carrying those changes through — and for deciding what comes next.