WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. government will retain its mortgage guarantees and oversight role for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as he works to take the U.S. mortgage finance firms public. "I am working on TAKING THESE AMAZING COMPANIES PUBLIC, but I want to be clear, the U.S. Government will keep its implicit GUARANTEES, and I will stay strong in my position on overseeing them as President," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The United States Treasury owns preferred shares in the firms and warrants to purchase about 80% of their common stock, a holdover from a rescue during the 2008 housing loan crisis."These Agencies are now doing very well," Trump said on Tuesday, referring to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie, formally known as the Federal National Mortgage Association, and Freddie, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., operate as for-profit firms with private shareholders.

(Reporting by Caitlin Webber and Rocky Swift; editing by Costas Pitas)