President Donald Trump’s housing chief has strongly criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, labeling him a “maniac” and “deranged,” while blaming persistent high interest rates for widespread financial hardship among Americans. This fiery characterization comes as economic anxiety continues to grip the country, with housing costs climbing to levels not seen in decades.
The remarks came from Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, calling into ResiDay, a residential real-estate conference hosted by ResiClub, the news and research outlet cofounded by former Fortune editor Lance Lambert.
Pulte, whose family is one of the biggest names in corporate homebuilding, did not mince words about the Fed chair.
“He’s really a maniac,” Pulte said when asked about his view on the impact of high interest rates on the mortgage market. “We’ve really got to get a good new Federal Reserve chair. I’m very confident that the president will pick somebody great. You know, I think Powell has just totally let it go to his head.”
Pain in the mortgage market
Pulte argued “it’s sad” and Powell is “not looking at the data” despite his reputation as a “straight shooter.” The data shows, according to Pulte, “inflation is way lower” and high mortgage rates are “really hurting a lot of people.” He added the climate in Washington, D.C. is something of a bubble.
“When I’m there, it’s like this little vacuum, and you get caught in it,” he said. “And I think some of these guys, they go to D.C., and they just, they lose their minds.”
The FHFA director argued Trump has a clear vision: “Maybe it’s because he goes out of town often,” but “these other people, like Powell, they’ve lost their mind.”
He circled around by stressing high interest rates “are really, really hurting people.” The remarks underscore a growing frustration among Trump-aligned Republicans who argue the central bank’s aggressive rate hikes—and the slow recent pace of its rate cuts—have stifled growth and made homeownership less attainable .
Since mid-2022 and the highest rate of inflation in 40 years, the Fed implemented sharp increases in the benchmark interest rate, which rippled through the housing sector, before relenting in mid-2025, cutting rates twice to date. Much of the Fed’s thinking was affected by what Powell called a “low-hire, low-fire” job market, in which layoffs are low, but so is hiring, especially for recent college graduates and minorities.
The longest government shutdown in history, grinding on as Pulte was speaking at ResiDay, has actually deprived the market and the central bank of fresh data on the state of the economy, forcing many to turn to alternate measures. But to Pulte’s point, mortgage rates have remained stubbornly high, still over 6%, a contrast to the sub-3% rate enjoyed by the vast majority of mortgage holders in the national housing market.
“Many homeowners are reluctant [to] put their homes on the market and give up the low mortgage rates they already have,” Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices said in late October about this so-called “lock-in effect.” Warren Buffett’s portfolio company said that: “To them, high price gains won’t mitigate their ability to pay more for another home at significantly higher interest rates.”
And there is widespread evidence of pain in the housing market. Recent data show home affordability at its lowest point in decades. Earlier this week, the National Association of Realtors found the average age of the first-time homebuyer had crossed 40 years old for the first time.
Tensions between Trump and Powell are not new. Trump himself sparred repeatedly with Powell during both his current presidential term and during his prior stint in office, repeatedly calling for lower rates and nicknaming the Fed chair as “too late.” Pulte said Powell’s looks are deceiving: “He looks like this calm, silent guy, but he’s deranged.”
Changes for Fannie and Freddie?
Pulte also talked vaguely about his plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, quasi-utilities that have been under government conservatorship since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. Saying “we hold all the cards,” Pulte said he thinks Fannie and Freddie “will probably take ownership in different companies by virtue of companies offering them equity in exchange for Fannie and Freddie doing smart business constructs with them,” in a similar way to the government’s unprecedented investment into Intel.
“We have a great dealmaker as president,” Pulte argued, citing Intel specifically as a change from the past when “politicians stupidly gave money to Intel and didn’t get anything in return.”
At least we’re saying, ‘Yeah, we’re going to get something,'” Pulte added. He said the FHFA was similarly looking at taking equity stakes in companies that are willing to give it to us “because of how much power Fannie and Freddie have over the whole ecosystem,” adding that “what’s in the best interest of Fannie and Freddie is in the best interest of Americans, and it doesn’t matter if it’s not politically popular, it doesn’t matter if donors are going to be upset.”
If it’s in the best interest in American people, we’re going to do it,” Pulte said.
