FHFA director continues to call for Powell to step aside
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Bill Pulte has continued his campaign calling for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to leave his post, escalating pressure on an official who’s facing mounting criticism from the Trump administration.
Pulte, who’s frequently taken to X to blast the Fed chair, said during an appearance on Fox Business that Powell was an “obnoxious, arrogant, pompous person” and continued to speculate that Powell could be considering resigning from his post.
The FHFA chair, appointed by President Trump earlier this year, said the Fed’s decisions to keep interest rates unchanged were “hurting people” and called on Powell to resign.
Over the weekend, Pulte also used his X account to highlight the ballooning cost of renovations at the Fed’s Washington headquarters, which have reportedly swelled to $2.5 billion, and reposted unverified reports that Powell is considering stepping aside.
Powell has been a frequent target of attacks by the Trump administration in recent weeks, with the president regularly criticizing the Fed chair for keeping rates elevated this year while other central banks have cut.
The Fed has maintained that rates need to stay where they are until it can assess the impact that Trump’s tariff wave will have on the US economy, with potential upside inflationary risks highlighted.
But Trump allies including Pulte and vice-president JD Vance have criticized that approach, and the president reportedly considered attempting to fire Powell last week before publicly dismissing the idea.
Powell's term, which began in 2018 with his appointment during Trump's first presidency, is set to end in May next year. The president has said deliberations to find his successor are well underway and that an announcement is imminent.
The Fed is scheduled to meet for its next interest rate decision next week, with the central bank widely expected to keep rates unchanged despite mounting pressure from the president to cut.
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