A Chance to End Biden’s Federal Overreach in Title Insurance: Karla Jones & FL Rep. John Snyder in Townhall
ALEC Vice President of the Center for International Freedom Karla Jones and Florida Representative John Snyder recently co-authored a Townhall op-ed outlining the opportunity for the Trump Administration to overturn Biden-era policies that shifted title insurance from state regulation to federal control. The piece highlights constitutional concerns, while examining policies that could drive up costs and risks for homeowners and lenders.
President Trump and U.S. Federal Housing Director Bill Pulte made waves last week by overhauling the boards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As they continue to shake up the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA), a leftover Biden Administration scheme presents a perfect opportunity to stop federal overreach and return power to the states.
This initiative raises serious constitutional concerns by challenging states’ long-held authority to regulate insurance—an authority rooted in the Founders’ vision of limiting federal power and preserving state and local control as a core principle of the U.S. system of government.
The Tenth Amendment, which provides that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people,” was intended to prevent Washington, D.C., from interfering in matters left to the states.
As a result, the regulation of insurance – including title insurance – has been recognized as a state prerogative, protected by statutory frameworks like the McCarran-Ferguson Act. The 1945 Act explicitly grants states the primary role in overseeing the insurance industry, acknowledging that local officials are best positioned to understand and address the nuances of their respective markets.