President Donald Trump is ready to make major reforms to government-owned housing-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to potentially break with Republican orthodoxy by maintaining the federal conservatorship the companies have operated under for nearly two decades.

President Trump says he'll decide soon whether to take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public — a move that was vocally sought by Trump ally Bill Ackman.

One of the chief concerns of taking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac private is how it would influence mortgage rates and could increase their costs. President Donald Trump’s promise of an implicit