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William Pulte Confirmed as FHFA Director

March 13, 2025

The U.S. Senate today voted 56-43 to confirm William Pulte as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The bipartisan vote comes quickly after the Senate Banking Committee favorably reported Pulte on a 15-9 vote last week. 

Why it matters: FHFA regulates housing agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system. As Director, Pulte will be a key figure in discussions on the path forward for the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), currently in conservatorship. 

Pulte has pledged to focus on housing supply and affordability. Notably, ending the GSE conservatorship also appears to be a key priority for the administration. A solely regulatory effort will require Treasury’s buy-in; more comprehensive reforms (e.g., explicit guarantee) would need congressional action. 

• The timing is uncertain, but with tax and reconciliation as major points of focus, 2026 seems like a more realistic timeline to focus on an exit from conservatorship. 
• Congressional leaders are looking to the administration to lead on GSE reform, as previous legislative efforts have been thorny exercises that failed to advance. 
• The first Trump administration laid out a plan—led by then Director Mark Calabria and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin—for ending the conservatorship. The pandemic and the 2020 election ultimately derailed that process. 
• Near term, Pulte will likely examine Biden-era FHFA policies, including renter protections. 

Go deeper: As we previously covered, Pulte’s confirmation hearing was largely uneventful. Two Democrats — Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) — joined all GOP senators in advancing his nomination out of committee. 

• Pulte deferred on many policy questions during the hearing by saying he preferred to start at FHFA before weighing in on specifics, but he pledged to work with senators from both parties on their concerns.
• Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) focused her entire five minutes of questioning on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), despite sending a letter to Pulte soliciting his views on the housing agencies’ exit from conservatorship.
• Pulte answered a number of Warren’s detailed written questions by reiterating his commitment to follow the law and focus on the housing finance system’s safety and soundness. But he largely declined to weigh in on potential GSE reform efforts. 

The bottom line: With Pulte in the director’s seat, discussions on the GSE conservatorship may be closer, but the entirety of the process will be more drawn out. 

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