Dreamِ Maidenِ and City

Jackson Will Resign

by hilzoy

Oscar red carpet

Via TPM, the WSJ:

“housing and urban development secretary alphonso jackson is expected to announce his adjustment monday, according to people familiar with the matter, a decision that will deal a blow to the bush administration’s efforts to tackle the housing and mortgage hotchpotch.

The exact reasons for Mr. Jackson’s decision couldn’t be learned. The secretary has been beset recently by allegations of cronyism and favoritism. Earlier this month, two Democratic senators, Patty Murray of Washington and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, sent a letter to President Bush urging him to request Mr. Jackson’s resignation, arguing that the distraction has made him ineffective.

Mr. Jackson has consistently denied wrongdoing.”

This is excellent news. (For background, see here.) On the other hand, much as it delights me to see Jackson leave office, it’s a pretty bad time not to have a Secretary of Housing and Urban Development:

“the news is a setback for the bush administration and its efforts to combat the casing and mortgage mess. hud, usually out of the spotlight, has been at the heart of the administration’s attempts to ease problems for homeowners. although treasury secretary henry paulson has captivated the lead on many initiatives, mr. jackson has been a colleague on many, including programs such as hope now, an administration-backed industry plan to loosen the terms on hundreds of thousands of subprime mortgages.

HUD also runs the Federal Housing Administration.”

Take-home lesson: don’t appoint dreadful people in the first place. Then they won’t have to resign at the worst possible moment.

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