The Trump administration has nominated Matt Jones for assistant secretary for housing of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the White House announced Monday.

Jones has served as deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing at HUD since early 2025, following roughly two years as associate vice president of government housing finance for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the real estate finance sector’s largest trade group.

If confirmed by the Senate, the assistant secretary role would position Jones as second in command to HUD Secretary Scott Turner. The position includes the responsibilities of commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), an office within HUD that administers, underwrites and insures government-backed mortgages.

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Voicing their support for his nomination, the MBA applauded Jones’ current work overseeing single-family housing operations for the FHA in a statement issued Tuesday, while underscoring his previous involvement with the trade group.

“Matt brings an impressive combination of hands-on mortgage industry experience, deep knowledge of government housing finance and a strong understanding of how FHA programs can better serve homebuyers, renters and lenders,” said MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit.

Though just confirmed to the role last December, former FHA Commissioner Frank Cassidy resigned the assistant secretary position at the beginning of June. During an exclusive interview with Scotsman Guide, Cassidy attributed his decision to job opportunities in the private sector and a desire to spend more time with his growing family.

Ginnie Mae President Joseph Gormley has been filling the assistant secretary and FHA commissioner roles on an interim basis since Cassidy’s resignation.

According to financial disclosures filed with the Office of Government Ethics in April 2025, Jones held senior positions at settlement services provider Aegis Title Partners from 2021 to 2024 and Union Home Mortgage in 2023. The disclosures said Jones was actively a managing member of Emeritus Capital LLC, a Michigan-based company that invests in single-family rental properties.

Jones supported Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as senior counsel on the Senate’s banking and finance committees from 2017 to 2021 before returning to the private sector in 2021. He rejoined the MBA in 2023 as associate vice president of government housing finance, overseeing the trade association’s government lending portfolio while managing its residential board of governors.