Moreover operating Mondale’s failed run for the White Home in opposition to Ronald Reagan in 1984, Johnson was a key participant within the presid
Moreover operating Mondale’s failed run for the White Home in opposition to Ronald Reagan in 1984, Johnson was a key participant within the presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy, Edmund Muskie and George McGovern.
He turned his political savvy into enterprise success. David O. Maxwell, former head of Fannie Mae, employed Johnson as vice chairman in 1990, after Johnson had helped the corporate maintain off privatization efforts by the Reagan administration. Johnson was promoted to chairman and CEO the following yr.
Johnson instantly set his sights on sustaining Fannie Mae’s profitable authorities privileges and guaranteeing that new rules weren’t overly burdensome. Johnson and his lobbyists helped vogue a 1992 legislation signed by President George H.W. Bush that aimed to scale back the prospect of an costly taxpayer bailout if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had unhealthy loans on their books.
It additionally opened up a brand new period of residence possession for households who have been beforehand unable to get mortgage loans.
After retiring from Fannie Mae on the finish of 1998, Johnson served on the boards of a number of firms, together with UnitedHealth Group, KB Dwelling and Goal, and was vice chairman of the Washington private-equity agency Perseus. He had chaired the advisory council of the Stanford Heart on Longevity since 2011.