San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, confirmed by the Senate today as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, will have to balance the desires of Democrats and housing advocates to make sure FHA mortgages remain available to borrowers of modest means, while avoiding another budget shortfall like last year’s $1.7 billion taxpayer cash infusion that would “provide ammunition for Republicans looking to hit the Obama administration,” Politico reports.
There was little opposition to Castro’s nomination to the job by President Obama in May, and the Senate vote to approve him was 71-26. Source: politico.com.