The politics of the foreclosure crisis

A look at the leaders in Washington and beyond who are involved in the foreclosure mess.

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Elizabeth Warren is a Harvard law professor and now special adviser to President Obama overseeing the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that is mandated by the financial overhaul. She previously served as the federal government's top bailout watchdog. Warren's been sounding the alarm about risky lending since at least 2004. The CFPB is her brainchild, and she is widely believed to be on the president's short list to head the new agency. Protecting consumers against predatory lending -- from credit cards to mortgages -- will be one of the bureau's top priorities.

Daniel Acker / Bloomberg

As Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner is in charge of the Obama administration response to the foreclosure crisis: the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The program, which is intended to help homeowners renegotiate the terms of their mortgages, has been widely viewed as a disappointment. In October, Geithner came out against imposing a moratorium on foreclosures, saying such a move would be "very damaging" to the housing market.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) is the outgoing chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. The senator came under fire in 2008 when news surfaced that he and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) had received favorable VIP loans from Angelo Mozilo, CEO of Countrywide -- one of the nation's most prolific subprime lenders. With his House counterpart, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Dodd authored the financial overhaul bill that reined in some of the most damaging Wall Street practices and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP

Perhaps no mortgage lender was more emblematic of the rampant subprime lending that took place in the past decade than Countrywide Financial, and Angelo Mozilo was running the show. Mozilo became a household name (at least in Washington) when he was tied to Sens. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), each of whom received special loans through a Countrywide program that became known as "Friends of Angelo."

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), right, is the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee. Initially Dodd's partner on Wall Street reform, Shelby walked away from the table and ultimately opposed the bill. In October, Shelby called for an investigation into the foreclosure practices of several of the biggest mortgage lenders, including Ally Financial, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America, and accused federal regulators of being "asleep at the switch." In January, when the new class of senators is sworn in, Shelby will find himself with a new partner heading the banking committee, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.).

Brendan Hoffman / Bloomberg

From the bank-friendly state of South Dakota -- home to the headquarters of many banks and credit card companies -- Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson will assume the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Banking Committee from the retiring Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.). When he does, he will instantly become one of the biggest players in the federal response to the foreclosure mess.

Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg

With the Republicans seizing control of the House of Representatives in November, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) will replace Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee -- and he will become the door through which House remedies to the foreclosure crisis must pass. In August, Bachus called for an investigation into the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program, which many, including Bachus have called a failure.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Outgoing Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has called for bipartisan support for legislation that would ensure another foreclosure mess does not happen.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) is the longest-serving woman in the House, an outspoken liberal and one of the loudest voices on the Hill calling attention to the foreclosure epidemic. In 2009, Kaptur encouraged homeowners facing foreclosure to squat in their homes.

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan is coordinating with state attorneys general to undertake a review of foreclosure practices. So far, Donovan has said the probe has found no evidence of systemic problems in the mortgage servicing industry.

Susan Walsh / AP

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is leading the 50-state investigation into practices that generated flawed and possibly fraudulent foreclosure filings.

Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP

Brian Moynihan is chief executive of Bank of America, the nation's largest bank. The financial institution temporarily halted foreclosures nationwide but has since resumed them in 23 states.

Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has launched a criminal probe into practices by foreclosure mills.

John Raoux / AP

Outgoing Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray was the first attorney general to sue a major lender over the foreclosure mess. When he filed the lawsuit on Oct. 6, Cordray said the alleged fraud was the "tip of an iceberg of industrywide abuse of the foreclosure process."

Kiichiro Sato / AP

R.K. Arnold is president and chief executive of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), the controversial database used by practically every lending institution and investment company to track the transfer of the ownership of mortgages as they are packaged into securities.

Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg

John Walsh heads the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, one of four agencies that oversees activities of big banks. The OCC chose not to scrutinize the foreclosure operations of the largest national banks, forgoing any examination of their procedures and paperwork. Instead, the agency relied on the banks' in-house assessments.

Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg

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