Trump gets some backup in his crusade against Fed Chair Jerome Powell

President Donald Trump’s extraordinary offensive against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is drawing back-up from another administration official.

Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, pushed for Powell’s resignation in a Fox Business interview on Friday. It follows an identical string of attacks from Pulte against the central bank chief on social media.

“[Powell] still has interest rates way too high and they’re not reflective of the great work that President Trump has done,” Pulte said. “Fed Chair Jay Powell either lower the rates or he needs to resign.”

Pulte, who oversees housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, cited a weak housing market in his case for lower rates. A lower interest rate reduces the cost of a 30-year mortgage.

“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 needs to resign, effective immediately,” Pulte said in a Wednesday post on X.

Pulte’s attacks align him with Trump’s escalating attacks on the Fed, the independent central bank tasked with setting interest rates. The Fed left benchmark interest rates unchanged on Wednesday for the fourth meeting in a row. That development triggered intense backlash from Trump, who mused about installing himself as Fed chair. The President also called Powell “a stupid person” the same day.

Other hardline conservatives such as Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama have also called for Powell to resign.

It’s unclear whether Pulte, a former private equity executive, secured a green light from the White House to wage a Trump-like offensive against the Fed. The White House and the FHFA did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Federal Reserve declined to comment.

William English, a former top Federal Reserve official who is now a finance professor at Yale University, called it “pretty unusual” for administration official to publicly lambast the Federal Reserve. It might not be unprecedented, however.

English added even the appointment of a Trump-friendly Fed chair may not be enough to secure lower interest rates. Powell’s term concludes in May 2026, and many of the 12 voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee will remain in their posts.

“The folks voting on policy next spring will be mostly the same as those who voted to keep policy unchanged this week,” he said. “So even a Chair wanting easier policy to satisfy the President may well find it hard to deliver.” 

Other observers echoed concerns about the Fed being able to safeguard its political independence. “It is absolutely nothing new for a president to be critical of what a Fed chair is doing,” Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors and a former Federal Reserve economist said. “But typically, those criticisms are behind closed doors.”