To that end, the letter praises Pulte for two specific actions:
- An interview where Pulte claims to have uncovered a multimillion dollar settlement between the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and “a former Biden political appointee who had worked there only for a few months.”
- Pulte’s claim that only 49 of 2900 Fannie Mae employees were reporting to the office in person for the full work week.
Democrats Question Recent FHFA Actions and Procedure: Two earlier letters from a mix of Senate Democrats question recent moves by Pulte, including a number of FHFA and government sponsored enterprise dismissals and policy reversals.
Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) led a letter, co-signed by seven fellow Democrats, that raised concerns and requested answers to a series of questions:
- Specific plans on GSE conservatorship exit,
- FHFA and the GSE personnel cuts,
- FHFA’s coordination with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),
- Director Pulte’s publication of orders through a personal X account, and
- The legality of the FHFA Director serving on GSE boards.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) led a similar letter that focused on FHFA’s changes to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s boards. Reed and five of his colleagues allege that the changes to GSE boards resulted in a lack of a majority of independent directors, which the letter claims is required under FHFA and SEC regulations.
Both Democratic letters are a sharp departure from Pulte’s smooth committee hearing (see our previous coverage), though most of the questions during the hearing were focused on the CFPB nominee.
Meanwhile, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) followed up with a
letter on April 5 that echoed the themes of the Senate Democrats’ letter and questioned the dismantling of various diversity inclusion offices and programs. Waters cited statutory provisions in Dodd-Frank and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act that mandate Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion at each financial regulator.
CREFC will continue to monitor congressional engagement with FHFA.
Contact
David McCarthy (
dmccarthy@crefc.org) with any questions.