Rep. Mel Watt is under consideration to lead the regulator of mortgage-finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
…Mr. Watt was among a handful of lawmakers on the financial-services panel who voted against a politically popular bill that would have cut Fannie and Freddie executive salaries, saying that the measure would have been “penalizing the wrong people” and would have risked a flight of qualified talent to other financial firms.
Mr. Watt is also one of many lawmakers from both parties who took campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie before the companies were taken over by the government.
The N&R quotes state Sen. Gladys Robinson as saying “half of Charlotte and half of Greensboro” would be interested in Watt’s 12th District seat should he take the post.
