William Pulte, the director of U.S. Federal Housing and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, wants Jerome Powell gone.
Pulte issued a statement Wednesday calling for Congress to investigate Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, for lying about renovations made to the office's Washington, D.C., headquarters.
"I am asking Congress to investigate Chairman Jerome Powell, his political bias, and his deceptive Senate testimony, which is enough to be removed 'for cause,'" Pulte said. "Jerome Powell's $2.5B Building Renovation Scandal stinks to high heaven, and he lied when asked about the specifics before Congress. This is nothing short of malfeasance and is worthy of 'for cause.'"
At a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Powell denied reports the Federal Reserve spent billions to turn the headquarters into the "Palace of Versailles," as Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., described it.
"There's no VIP dining room; there's no new marble. There are no special elevators," Powell said. "There are no new water features, there's no beehives, and there's no roof terrace gardens."
The cost for the renovations has already ballooned by 30% from an original estimate of $1.9 billion, the New York Post reported.
Pulte had previously called for Powell's resignation in an appearance on Newsmax, after the board declined to lower interest rates.
"Look, this guy, we had to deal with him all throughout [the COVID-19 pandemic], as you know," Pulte told "Rob Schmitt Tonight." "And we had mortgage rates skyrocket. We had inflation skyrocket over the last four years. It's time for Jerome Powell to go. I think President [Donald] Trump has been a little bit nice to this guy. And I think, frankly, something needs to happen because we have a housing market that is dependent on interest rates and sound monetary policy. And we have a guy who's not even looking at the facts. He's not even looking at the numbers. Inflation has come down. Rates need to come down."
Powell's four-year term ends next May.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.