A Phil Hall Op-Ed: Earlier this morning, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent out a brief press statement with the headline: “US Federal Housing Announces Director Pulte Will Donate 100% of His Salary to Wounded Veterans.”
The press statement began with this announcement: “In a demonstration of commitment to fiscal responsibility and public service, William J. Pulte, Director of US Federal Housing, announced today that he will donate his salary.”
The press statement included a quote from Pulte that said, “Serving as President Trump’s Director of Federal Housing is the honor of a lifetime. Working in the most consequential administration in history to restore the American dream of homeownership is all the reward one needs.” The press statement concluded with the statement, “The donations began at the last pay period.”
In case you’re wondering how much money Pulte makes at the FHFA – which is the correct name for the agency, not “US Federal Housing” – that information was not shared with the public. I sent an email to the FHFA press office for clarification, but my inquiry was not acknowledged. Online data suggests the range could be from the low-to-mid $200,000s.
Considering that Pulte’s net worth is estimated at nearly $200 million, I suspect sacrificing his FHFA salary will not put a crimp in his personal budget.
As for the “Wounded Veterans” who are supposedly receiving this new rush of generosity, the FHFA was also conspicuously vague. I also asked the FHFA press office to identify which group or groups will be receiving Pulte’s money, but I received no answer.
Prior to his arrival in Washington, Pulte gained notoriety for his so-called “Twitter philanthropy” where he supposedly gave away $1 million to various social media denizens who liked his tweets. I am not being snarky when I saw “supposedly” – there is no way to verify that Pulte gave away that specific amount. And considering that he’s already peppered his FHFA directorship with several deliberate falsehoods – including his claim that Jerome Powell was considering the resignation of his job or that the Federal Reserve hired a crisis communications agency to spin away bad press coverage – I have problems accepting Pulte’s statements as undiluted honesty.
But this raises the question: Why is Pulte suddenly trying to present himself as a benevolent figure? One obvious reason might be the sad fact that he has generated more negative attention than any other member of the Trump administration. Indeed, it takes a unique person to have both Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal repeatedly raise questions of job competence, yet Pulte has achieved that double-barreled criticism.
Even the usually unflappable Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent became so aggravated by Pulte that he threatened to punch Pulte in the face at a private club in Washington. Bessent’s spark of anger was reportedly because Pulte was badmouthing him to Trump.
I would not be surprised if Pulte becomes the first high-profile Trump administration figure to be forced from office due to repeated failures. His efforts to harass Powell out of the Federal Reserve chairmanship backfired – Powell completely ignored Pulte, making his endless online insults look childish and stupid.
Then, there is the fraying strategy of using mortgage fraud allegations against Trump’s political foes. Yes, New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted based on Pulte’s criminal referral, but only after the original prosecutor was forced out of office for having the temerity to admit there was no case against her. Most likely, the James case will fall apart and get dismissed.
Pulte’s attempt to get Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook fired based on mortgage fraud accusations has backfired on him dramatically. The conservative-majority Supreme Court blocked Trump’s effort to remove Cook based on Pulte’s spurious allegations against her – the usually chatty Pulte was noticeably quiet when the court ruled against his machinations. As of this writing, Cook has yet to be indicted by the Trump Justice Department – nor has Sen. Adam Schiff, another Pulte target.
More recently, Trump entrusted Pulte with lobbying the nation’s leading homebuilders to construct new properties on 2 million vacant lots. If that effort comes to naught, Pulte could easily be shown out of the administration.
However, Pulte’s financial generosity may keep him in Trump’s good graces. After all, during the past six years Pulte and his wife donated more than $1 million to Trump and his allies – and I’m sure there will be more donations to come (and more political allies to buy) with the 2026 midterms. When it involves giving away money, Pulte obviously expects something in return.
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
Photo courtesy of Bill Pulte’s Facebook page
Well, money talks and BS walks for the most part. Has Pulte created such a hostile following with his strong criticisms that he is now pursuing damage control? The idea of donating his salary to one or more Veterans groups is laudable. But as Jesus said in the Temple while the rich man gave out of his abundance the poor women with giving 2 copper coins gave out of her poverty. Pulte is a wealthy man and I don’t knock him for it whatsoever. Time heals and if Pulte can become a professional government official and just stay in his lane and do his job well then he might last longer than some would prefer. This country has way too many other problems to solve than for Pulte to draw his excessive attention for the wrong reasons.