Bill Ackman says it is "absolutely politically critical" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be released from government conservatorship before the end of the Trump administration. The Pershing Square founder, a longtime investor in both mortgage giants, made the case in a television interview, adding urgency to a long-running debate over when and how to end the companies' 18-year stint under federal control.
A warning about who benefits from delay
Ackman argued that leaving Fannie and Freddie in conservatorship carries a political risk as much as a financial one: the two companies generate enormous, steady cash flows, and he warned that if a future Democratic administration took power in 2028 with the companies still under government control, it could use that financial firepower as a kind of political war chest. Acting now, in his view, keeps that leverage out of the hands of a potential future opponent.
