Key GOP senators want Trump's chief attack dog to back off Jerome Powell

WASHINGTON — A pair of key Republican senators leveled rare criticism of an influential Trump administration official on Thursday over his relentless fusillade of attacks against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing and Finance Agency, serves as the top regulator of the colossal U.S. housing market, overseeing the government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the months after his Senate confirmation, though, he added to his job description helping orchestrate a fiery campaign against Powell and demanding the central bank chief to step down.

Pulte sided with senior White House officials in their efforts to highlight the ongoing Fed renovation of its aging headquarters and accused Powell of grossly mismanaging a $2.5 billion project that has significantly exceeded its original budget. He toured the Fed’s renovation site alongside President Donald Trump last week and reportedly drafted a letter for the president to fire him. Pulte has also marshaled a social media megaphone to post freewheeling diatribes against Powell to his 3 million followers on X. 

The moves are combining to draw more scrutiny from GOP senators.

“There's a lot of work to do in that agency. I'd stay focused on the lane to be honest with you,” Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the Senate Banking panel, told Quartz. “That’s outside of his area of responsibility and if you choose to be a politician, expect to be treated like one.”

A second GOP senator said he believed Pulte was excessively catering to Trump. “I think he is playing to one set of ears only, and I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good thing to be doing at this time,” said Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, another member of the Senate Banking panel. “I think he can be very, very capable. I think he should be focused on the issues specifically within his job, and move from there.”

An FHFA spokesperson said in a statement that “Jerome Powell and Joe Biden destroyed the U.S. housing market, and Director Pulte is working around the clock to reverse the damage caused by the Powell-Biden policies, including the excessively high interest rates which are hurting American families.”

Pulte has made changes in housing policy since his Senate confirmation in February. In June, the FHFA announced that it would start allowing cryptocurrencies as an asset for mortgage loans and pave the way for digital tokens to enter the housing market. The agency has also given a green light to use an alternative credit score to evaluate a borrower’s creditworthiness.

The reforms have given Pulte powerful backers. Earlier this month, GOP Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who chairs the Senate Banking panel, commended Pulte for taking steps to expand homeownership in the U.S. “Under President Trump, FHFA Director Pulte is taking long-overdue action to lower costs and expand homeownership opportunities for hardworking Americans across the country,” Scott said in a statement at the time.

Pulte issued fresh criticisms of Powell on Wednesday shortly after the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates steady. During his news conference, Powell said the Fed had little sway over mortgage rates, and prompted an online rebuke from Pulte.

“Jerome Powell, again, lies to the American people,” he wrote in an X post.

Pulte on Thursday morning also re-posted Trump's latest Truth Social attack against Powell as a "total loser."

Tillis and Rounds aren't the only ones in Republican circles questioning Pulte’s performance. A prominent conservative economist offered an unsparing job assessment Thursday.

“I have been underwhelmed by his performance as FHFA Director, unimpressed with his lack of leadership during an affordable housing crisis, and baffled by the rest of his vaudeville act,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum.