Tags: pulte | fed | chair | powell

Bill Pulte: 'Encouraged' By Reports Fed Chair Stepping Down

Jerome Powell
(Getty Images)

By    |   Saturday, 12 July 2025 01:42 PM EDT

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Director Bill Pulte says he's "encouraged" by reports he says he's seen that embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is considering stepping down. 

However, in a statement made on his government page, Pulte didn't specify which reports he's talking about, and Powell has often said he will not resign his post, reports The Hill on Saturday.

"I’m encouraged by reports that Jerome Powell is considering resigning," Pulte, who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said in the statement, posted Friday. "I think this will be the right decision for America, and the economy will boom.”

Powell's term is to end in May 2026, and he has said he will not resign his post, even if President Donald Trump, who frequently slams him over his refusal to lower interest rates, asks him to leave. 

Earlier this month, Pulte called on Congress to launch an investigation into Powell, accusing him of lying while testifying to the Senate Banking Committee in late June. 

"Jerome Powell's $2.5B Building Renovation Scandal stinks to high heaven, and he lied when asked about the specifics before Congress," Pulte said during his demand for an investigation. "This is nothing short of malfeasance and is worthy of 'for cause.'"

Trump, meanwhile, continued his criticism of Powell on Friday, telling reporters outside the White House that the chairman, who he initially nominated during his first term, is "doing a terrible job."

"He's costing our country a lot of money," Trump said. "We should be #1 and we're not. That's because of Jerome Powell."

Trump also repeated his nickname of "Too Late" about Powell in a post on his Truth Social account on Thursday. Last week, also on social media, Trump demanded that the chairman step down.

Meanwhile, Powell says he is waiting to introduce lower interest rates until he can evaluate the effects of Trump's tariff agenda. 

"What we’re waiting for, to reduce rates, is to understand what will happen with the tariff inflation," he said in June. "There’s a lot of uncertainty about that…someone has to pay the tariffs … between the manufacturer, the exporter, the importer, the retailer, ultimately somebody putting it into a good of some kind — or just the consumer buying it."

Meanwhile, the names of several potential replacements for Powell are circulating, including those of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller, and White House Council of Economic Advisers Director Kevin Hassett.

A separate government official, who was not named, confirmed to The New York Post that "high-level, credible sources” inside the administration believe Powell is weighing whether to resign. 

The insider claimed that Powell has been "feeling the heat" and is "fatigued" after The Post's story in April about a $2.5 billion revamping of the Fed's offices in Washington, D.C. 

"Why would you stay at a party when no one wants you there?" the Post's source said. 

Trump on Thursday appointed three new members to the National Capital Planning Commission, a board that regulates federal development projects, in a move seen as adding more pressure on Powell to step down. 

A senior administration official said the slams on Powell are all a "4D chess" game being played by Trump and his allies to push the chairman into resigning. 

Sandy Fitzgerald

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Director Bill Pulte says he's "encouraged" by reports he says he's seen that embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is considering stepping down.
pulte, fed, chair, powell
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2025-42-12
Saturday, 12 July 2025 01:42 PM
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