You may have heard Bill Pulte’s name a lot as of late.
Pulte is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA under President Donald Trump, serving in a role that gives him regulatory authority over the country’s mortgage industry.
He’s been using that authority in unusual ways — including getting involved in Trump’s clashes with the Federal Reserve.
Pulte has been an outspoken critic of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, has called on him to resign, and reportedly gave Trump a drafted letter that would fire Powell.
And earlier this month, Pulte accused Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud, leading Trump to attempt to fire her and kicking off a legal battle that remains ongoing, with implications for the US economy.
Here’s what you should know about Pulte.
Before serving in government, he was widely known as a “Twitter Philanthropist”
Pulte’s family has been involved in housing for a long time: Bill Pulte is the grandson of William J. Pulte, the founder of the home-building company PulteGroup.
The younger Pulte founded his own investment firm, Pulte Capital Partners, in 2011, shortly after he graduated from Northwestern University. In addition to being CEO of Pulte Capital, he also served on the board of PulteGroup and was based in Michigan, near Detroit.
In 2019, he gained a following on Twitter, now known as X, for engaging in “Twitter Philanthropy,” in which he gave away thousands of dollars to various followers in need.
That involved things like investing in small businesses, paying for some users’ groceries, or offering a reward to find a missing person. He even once partnered with the make-up artist Jeffree Star on a $30,000 cash giveaway.
He’s also a major political donor, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Trump and other GOP candidates during the 2024 election cycle.
He’s gotten involved in Trump’s war with the Fed
Pulte’s nomination to be FHFA director was confirmed by the Senate in March by a 56-34 vote, mostly along party lines.
He made some early moves at FHFA, including consolidating the agency’s control over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Pulte announced earlier this year that he was directing both companies, which are under a government conservatorship, to consider cryptocurrency as an asset in mortgage lending.
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But he’s garnered even more notoriety for his role in Trump’s war with the Fed.
AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
According to the New York Times, Pulte drafted a letter for Trump that would have fired Powell. Trump reportedly showed off the letter to a group of GOP lawmakers at the White House in July, when the president was considering firing the Federal Reserve chair.
Pulte has also been a loud critic of Powell, and he accompanied Trump during his high-profile tour of the Fed later in July.
Pulte’s focus on Powell drew the ire of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who in a July letter to Pulte said that he appeared “distracted” from his main job.
He’s accused several Trump foes of mortgage fraud
More consequentially, Pulte helped spur Trump’s attempted firing of Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve Board governor appointed by President Joe Biden.
Trump called for her to resign, and then said he was removing her, citing Pulte’s allegations that she had committed mortgage fraud.
Cook refused to step aside, saying that Trump has no authority to fire her. That kicked off a legal battle that remains ongoing.
In addition to his allegations against Cook, Pulte has also used his position to accuse Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Tish James — both prominent Trump critics — of mortgage fraud.
The Department of Justice is now investigating both officials, who have denied Pulte’s allegations and characterized them as baseless attempts at political retribution.
