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Senate Democrats want Housing chief to testify soon

Katy O'Donnell, Bloomberg News on

Published in News & Features

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are pressing their Republican colleagues to summon the Trump administration’s top housing regulator to Capitol Hill for questioning about his turbulent tenure overseeing the nation’s $13 trillion mortgage market.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte should be called to testify before lawmakers no later than the end of January, the Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee wrote in a letter Friday to Republican Chairman Tim Scott.

Among the topics they said they wanted to address: A recent spate of firings at the agency; Pulte’s move to appoint himself chairman of the boards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled companies standing behind more than half of U.S. mortgages; the removal of the FHFA inspector general; and Pulte’s “involvement with and communications regarding the mortgages of individual Americans.”

“We must fulfill our oversight responsibilities related to potential harm being done by Mr. Pulte to our nation’s housing finance market and in turn, to the supply and cost of housing,” wrote the Democrats, led by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed.

Asked about the letter, FHFA spokesman Jonathan Coppage said that Warren “is engaging in side shows while we work to fix the damage done to the housing market by Biden-Harris.” Sen. Scott’s office declined to comment.

 

Pulte’s frequently use of social media to attack political foes, as well as his surprise policy announcements and personnel changes, have raised eyebrows among some Trump advisers as the administration seeks to address housing affordability heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

In recent weeks, Pulte has signaled support for proposals allowing Americans to access 50-year mortgages as well as “portable mortgages.” It’s not clear that either plan has much traction in Congress or with the general public.

Adding to the scrutiny of Pulte, the Government Accountability Office on Thursday confirmed it is probing whether he abused his position to level allegations of mortgage fraud at President Donald Trump’s perceived political opponents, including Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California.

The Banking Committee Democrats on Friday also said that Pulte should “provide his calendar and time sheets” documenting how he has spent his days at the agency and at Fannie and Freddie ahead of the proposed hearing.


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