FHFA's Pulte suggests Fed chair is 'hurting the housing market' and calls for resignation
President Trump renewed his attacks on Jerome Powell Thursday morning, describing the Federal Reserve chair as “truly one of the dumbest, and most destructive, people in Government” and saying the Fed’s funds rate should be far lower.
In a Truth Social missive, Trump said Powell, whose Fed opted to leave rates unchanged for the fourth time in a row yesterday afternoon, was costing the US “hundreds of billions of dollars” and said the central bank’s board was “complicit”.
The president appeared to suggest that the Fed’s overnight rate should be 2.5% lower, pointing to a series of rate cuts by European central banks while Fed officials have held rates steady, and once again said Powell has been too slow in his approach.
“Europe has had 10 cuts, we have had none,” Trump wrote. “We should be 2.5 Points lower, and save $BILLIONS on all of Biden’s Short Term Debt. We have LOW inflation! TOO LATE’s an American Disgrace!”
Yesterday, Powell cited the risk of an inflation uptick because of Trump’s ongoing trade war as the main reason for the Fed’s decision not to cut yet, signaling that the central bank needs more time to assess how global tariffs will weigh against the national economic outlook.
The June 18 decision holds the funds rate at its current level of 4.25% to 4.50%, with the Fed’s so-called “dot plot” – an indicator of decisionmakers’ expectations for the economy – suggesting two cuts could be on the way before the end of the year.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist at National Association of Realtors (NAR), believes the Federal Reserve is too focused on tariffs and not enough on other disinflationary factors. He urges the Fed to widen its view for earlier rate cuts. https://t.co/IcIyoRhjqA
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) June 17, 2025
But the Fed chair has faced the ire of Trump officials in recent weeks – including Vice President JD Vance, who last week accused the central bank of “monetary malpractice” for not lowering rates.
Yesterday, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Bill Pulte, who oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, called on Powell to step aside.
“As Chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, I can tell you that Jay Powell is hurting the housing market by being Too Late to lower rates,” he wrote in an X post. “He needs to resign, effective immediately.”
Pulte described Powell’s rationale for not lowering rates as “just total and utter nonsense” and said Americans were “sick and tired of Jerome Powell.”
The overall inflation rate sits at 2.4%, while core inflation – which excludes volatile food and energy prices – was 2.8% in May, unchanged from the previous month.
Powell’s tenure as chair is set to end in May, with Trump recently indicating he’ll soon announce his successor.
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