A lesser-known member of the Trump administration has been driving the campaign to get President Donald Trump to oust Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, The New York Times reported — and it's gotten to the point that insiders are fed up with it.
Specifically, according to the report, Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has championed the effort both on social media and behind the scenes, even writing the draft letter for Trump to use to fire Powell earlier this month, before he reversed course, reportedly persuaded against doing so by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The president does not have the authority to fire the Fed chair before their term expires, legal experts have said, and even the Supreme Court has fired a warning shot over this issue.
Nonetheless, attacking Powell "has given Mr. Pulte, an heir of one of America’s largest home building families, a new prominence within the Trump administration that exceeds the usually quiet confines of the agency," said the report. "A longtime social media maven, Mr. Pulte has deployed his bombastic tone and his credibility from the construction industry to argue that the Fed’s policies are hurting the housing market and that a $2.5 billion renovation of its headquarters is an example of reckless spending by the central bank."
Pulte was present at Trump's high-profile tour of the Fed renovation at their headquarters earlier this week, where Powell schooled Trump on national television by correcting false claims about the project. Pulte has told his followers for weeks on social media, with no basis, that the project is "riddled with fraud."
As all of this has been unfolding, "Several housing policymakers and former housing regulators, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared angering Mr. Pulte, said they found his use of social media unsettling and somewhat embarrassing. Others have begun to refer to Mr. Pulte as a 'mini-Trump,' given the president’s proclivity to use social media to lash out at his political critics and opponents," said the report.
All of this has also aroused the anger of Democratic lawmakers, with even Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — who herself has criticized Powell's monetary policy decisions — condemning his behavior.
“Your job is to manage F.H.F.A., oversee our nation’s mortgage market and lower costs for American families — full stop,” Warren told Pulte in a letter earlier this week. “Your prolific activity on X and apparent decision to take time away from your duties as F.H.F.A. director to draft a letter for President Trump to fire Chair Powell are abnormal.”
