The Senate received the nomination of Joseph Gormley as Ginnie Mae president over the weekend and referred it to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. He was previously named Ginnie's executive vice president and chief operating officer in April.

If the nomination moves forward, Ginnie could have a permanent president for the first time since Alanna McCargo stepped down in May 2024.

Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit said he's supporting the nomination based on Gormley's "deep experience in housing finance policy."

"Senior roles in Ginnie Mae, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and MBA, make him well-qualified to lead," Broeksmit said in a statement the group issued Sunday.

Positions Gormley has held include chief of staff and deputy secretary at HUD. He also was at one time a deputy assistant secretary at the Federal Housing Administration, another HUD affiliate that provides loan-level insurance for many mortgages in securitizations Ginnie protects.

Gormley's key goals while COO at Ginnie have been to improve data resources and revisit industry suggestions for innovations, he told attendees at an MBA conference in May. 

Potential initiatives he's been eyeing include new options for early buyout loans, which could address a key pain point for the mortgage industry.

The nomination was one of many pieces of business Congress was working on just prior to its August recess.