US President Donald Trump speaks during a bill signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025.
Francis Chung | Politico | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is “instructing my Representatives” to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds, claiming that doing so will drive rates and monthly payments down.
Trump, in a Truth Social post, said he was issuing that directive because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored mortgage-issuing entities, are flush with cash.
It was unclear who Trump is referring to as his representatives. The White House and the Federal Housing Finance Agency did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for clarity.
The post came hours after FHFA Director Bill Pulte said in a CNBC interview that he expects Trump will make a decision in the next month or two on a possible IPO of Fannie and Freddie.
Trump claimed that his latest directive would help restore “affordability,” a word that has become key to Democrats’ political messaging as they accuse the Republican president of failing to address high prices.
Trump heaped criticism on the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, claiming that he had “ignored the Housing Market” amid a slew of other policy failures.
“Everything was broken, but I, as President of the United States, have already fixed it!” Trump declared. “Now, I am giving special attention to the Housing Market.”
“Because I chose not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in my First Term, a truly great decision, and against 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.
“Because of this, I am instructing my Representatives to BUY $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS.”
It was not clear from Trump’s post whether it would be Fannie and Freddie, the Treasury Department or another entity doing the buying.
The Federal Reserve in the past has purchased mortgage bonds in an effort to lower rates, as part of the monetary policy known as “quantitative easing.” But the executive branch cannot order the independent central bank to initiate those transactions.
The Treasury has purchased mortgage bonds in the past during times of extreme turmoil, such as the housing crisis of 2008 and 2009.
It was also not clear whether this buying would have any impact on mortgage rates. The Fed’s quantitative easing typically involves buying multiple types of securities, with larger amounts done in Treasuries in order to lower long-term Treasury rates.
Mortgage rates typically follow the lead of long-term Treasury rates, rather than mortgage bond yields.
The 10-year Treasury yield ticked slightly lower after hours amid Trump’s comments.
