Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Housing

Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Housing
Seal of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Style	Madam Secretary The Honorable (formal address in writing)
Reports to	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Seat	Washington, D.C., US
Appointer	The president with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	42 U.S.C.   § 3533
Formation	September 9, 1965;59 years ago (1965-09-09)
First holder	Philip N. Brownstein
Salary	Level IV of the Executive Schedule
Website	www.HUD.gov

The assistant secretary for housing, who also carries the title Federal Housing Commissioner, is a position within the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The assistant secretary is responsible for overseeing the $1.75+ trillion Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance portfolio and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's regulatory responsibilities in the area of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the housing mission of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the manufactured housing industry. ^[1]

Role

The federal housing commissioner is appointed by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate. ^[2] The assistant secretary is third in the order of succession for the office of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. ^[3] The assistant secretary is paid at level IV of the Executive Schedule, ^[4] receiving a basic annual salary of up to $200,000 depending on certain factors. ^[5] The position was most recently held by Julia Gordon and is currently vacant.

Assistant secretaries of housing and urban development for housing

At the founding of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1965, one assistant secretary role was specifically designated to perform the functions of the existing role of Federal Housing Commissioner. ^[6] HUD Secretary George W. Romney split the role between two new titles, Assistant Secretary for Housing Production and Mortgage Credit (HPMC, for the production side of Sections 235 and 236 and public housing), combining the GHA commissioner role, and a separate Assistant Secretary for Housing Management (HM). ^[7] Finally, on June 16, 1976, HUD Secretary Carla Hills merged the two roles into one single Assistant Secretary for Housing & Federal Housing Commissioner role, ^[8] which remains the title today.

Federal Housing Commissioner

Image	Name	Term began	Term ended	President(s)
	James A. Moffett [9]	1934	1935
	Stewart McDonald [9]	1935	1940
	Abner H. Ferguson [9]	1940	1945
	Raymond M. Foley [10] [9]	1945	1947	Harry S. Truman
	Franklin D. Richards [11] [9]	1947	1952	Harry S. Truman
	Walter L. Greene [9]	1952	1953
	Guy T. O. Hollyday [9]	1953	1954
	Norman P. Mason [9]	1954	1959	Dwight D. Eisenhower
	Julian H. Zimmerman [9]	1959	1960
	Norman P. Mason (acting) [9]	1960	1961
	Neal J. Hardy [9]	1961	1963
	Phillip N. Brownstein [9]	1963	1969†

Assistant Secretary – Federal Housing Commissioner

Image	Name	Term began	Term ended	President(s)
	Philip N. Brownstein [12]	1963†	1969	Lyndon B. Johnson
	Eugene M. Gulledge [13]	1969	1969	Richard M. Nixon

^†Incumbent FHA Commissioner at founding of Department of Housing and Urban Development

Assistant Secretary of Housing Production and Mortgage Credit – Federal Housing Commissioner

Image	Name	Term began	Term ended	President(s) served under
	Eugene M. Gulledge [8]	October 1969	January 1973	Richard M. Nixon
	Woodward Kingman (acting) [8]	January 1973	June 1973
	Sheldon B. Lubar [8]	July 1973	November 1974
				Gerald R. Ford
	David M. DeWilde (acting) [8]	November 1974	August 1975
	David S. Cook [8]	August 1975	June 14, 1976 [14]

Assistant Secretary of Housing Management

Image	Name	Term began	Term ended	President(s) served under
	Lawrence M. Cox [8]	March 1969	July 1970	Richard M. Nixon
	Norman V. Watson [8]	July 1970	January 1973
	Abner Silverman (acting) [8]	January 1973	March 1973
	H.R. Crawford [8]	April 1973	January 1976
				Gerald R. Ford
	Robert C. Odle, Jr. (acting) [8]	January 1976	March 1976
	James L. Young [8]	March 1976	June 14, 1976

Assistant Secretary of Housing – Federal Housing Commissioner

Image	Name	Term began	Term ended	President(s) served under
	James L. Young [8]	June 14, 1976	December 1976	Gerald R. Ford
	John T. Howley (acting) [8]	December 1976	March 1977
				Jimmy Carter
	Lawrence B. Simons [8]	March 1977 [15]	1980
	Philip D. Winn [16]	1981	1982	Ronald Reagan
	Philip Abrams [17]	1982	1983
	Maurice Lee Barksdale [18]	1983	1985
	Thomas Demery [19]	1986	1989
	Catherine Austin Fitts [20]	1989	1990	George H. W. Bush
	Arthur J. Hill [21]	April 1991	1993
	Nicolas P. Retsinas [22]	June 1993	February 27, 1998	Bill Clinton
	William C. Apgar [23]	March 1998	January 20, 2001
	John C. Weicher [24]	June 1, 2001 [25]	2005	George W. Bush
	Brian D. Montgomery [1]	February 2005	July 2009
Barack Obama
		David H. Stevens [26]	July 2009	March 2011
		Carol Galante [27]	July 2011	December 2012
			December 2012	October 24, 2014
		Biniam Gebre [28]	October 2014	April 7, 2015
		Ed Golding	April 7, 2015	January 20, 2017
	Dana T. Wade [29]	July 2017	June 5, 2018	Donald Trump
	Brian D. Montgomery [30]	June 5, 2018	May 12, 2020
	Dana T. Wade [31]	July 28, 2020	January 20, 2021
	Janet M. Golrick [32]	January 20, 2021	May 20, 2022	Joe Biden
	Julia Gordon	May 20, 2022	January 20, 2025

Previous Federal Housing Commissioners include Carol Galante, who served as Acting Federal Housing Commissioner from July 2011 until she was confirmed by the Senate in December 2012. She served as Federal Housing Commissioner until October 2014, when she stepped down to take a faculty position at the University of California at Berkeley. Before her, Brian D. Montgomery, who was confirmed in February 2005 served as Federal Housing Commissioner. The previous Federal Housing Commissioner was John C. Weicher.

References

1. "HUD - The Honorable Brian D. Montgomery Assistant Secretary For Housing - Federal Housing Commissioner". Archived from the original on September 22, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
2. "US CODE: Title 42,3533. Officers of Department" . Retrieved September 27, 2007.
3. "Executive Order on Succession at the Department of Housing and Urban Development" . Retrieved September 27, 2007.
4. "US CODE: Title 5,5315. Positions at level IV" . Retrieved September 27, 2007.
5. "Salary Table 2006-EX". Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
6. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (November 1969). Secretary's Reference Book (PDF). U.S. Federal Government. p. 8.
7. "HUD at 50: Creating Pathways to Opportunity | HUD USER". www.huduser.gov. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
8. Comptroller General of the United States (March 31, 1976). Report to the Congress of the United States (PDF). U.S. Federal Government. p. 87.
9. Housing a Nation. Congressional Quarterly, Incorporated. 1966.
10. "Foley, Raymond M. Papers | Harry S. Truman". www.trumanlibrary.gov. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
11. "Statement by the President on the New Housing and Home Finance Agency | Harry S. Truman". www.trumanlibrary.gov. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
12. "Oral history transcript, Philip N. Brownstein, interview 1 (I), 11/22/1968, by David G. McComb · Discover Production". www.discoverlbj.org. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
13. United States Congress Senate Committee on Banking and Currency (1969). Nomination of Eugene A. Gulledge, Hearing Before ..., 91-1 ..., September 25, 1969.
14. "White House Notice to the Press June 10, 1976" (PDF).
15. "In Memoriam: Lawrence B. Simons". NH&RA. January 5, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
16. "PN136 - Nomination of Philip D. Winn for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 97th Congress (1981-1982)". www.congress.gov. April 2, 1981.
17. "PN1260 - Nomination of Philip Abrams for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 97th Congress (1981-1982)". www.congress.gov. September 29, 1982.
18. "PN600 - Nomination of Maurice Lee Barksdale for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 98th Congress (1983-1984)". www.congress.gov. November 22, 1983.
19. "PN1316 - Nomination of Thomas T. Demery for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 99th Congress (1985-1986)". www.congress.gov. October 18, 1986.
20. "PN387 - Nomination of C. Austin Fitts for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 101st Congress (1989-1990)". www.congress.gov. August 2, 1989.
21. Saxon, Wolfgang (May 13, 1995). "Arthur Hill, Finance Executive And Ex-Ginnie Mae Chief, 46". The New York Times.
22. "PN236 - Nomination of Nicolas P. Retsinas for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 103rd Congress (1993-1994)". www.congress.gov. May 11, 1993.
23. "PN1146 - Nomination of William C. Apgar Jr. for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 105th Congress (1997-1998)". www.congress.gov. October 21, 1998.
24. "HUD Testimony - John C. Weicher, Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner-Designate, 5/15/01". Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
25. "John C. Weicher". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov.
26. "PN332 - Nomination of David H. Stevens for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 111th Congress (2009-2010)". www.congress.gov. July 10, 2009.
27. "FHA Commissioner Carol Galante stepping down for University of California post". The Washington Post . Retrieved September 29, 2015.
28. "Ed Golding to Replace Biniam Gebre as FHA Head". NCSHA. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
29. "New HUD FHA Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing". leadingage.org.
30. "PN1352 - Nomination of Brian D. Montgomery for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 115th Congress (2017-2018)". www.congress.gov. May 23, 2018.
31. "PN1605 - Nomination of Dana T. Wade for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. July 28, 2020.
32. "Biden names interim FHA commissioner". www.mpamag.com. Retrieved July 11, 2021.