Bill Pulte, grandson of PulteGroup founder William Pulte and CEO of private equity firm Pulte Capital Partners, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). President Trump announced the nomination through his Truth Social account.
If confirmed by the Senate, Pulte would succeed Sandra Thompson as the head of the FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Thompson announced she would step down from her post Jan. 19.
Pulte is also known for his philanthropy via his social media pages. He founded Pulte Capital Partners in 2011. According to its website, Pulte Capital is an investment firm “focused exclusively on investing in leading building products businesses.”
The second Trump administration has renewed a push to release government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from federal conservatorship, where they have been since 2008. Earlier in January, the U.S. Treasury and the FHFA amended their Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements “to help ensure that the eventual release of the GSEs from conservatorship will be orderly and to reflect certain existing practices.”
David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference (NHC), issued a statement after Pulte’s nomination.
“The NHC looks forward to working with Bill Pulte, who was nominated by President-elect Trump to be the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. While Bill isn’t well known in Washington, we worked together in Detroit and I can say firsthand he is passionate about affordable housing and community development, as well as deeply knowledgeable about the housing market and home building industry. When Detroit was at its lowest point during the bankruptcy in 2013, Bill came home to work in communities hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. I expect he will be an important voice in the Trump administration’s efforts to bring down the cost of homeownership and make all housing more affordable.”
Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), also congratulated Pulte on his nomination.
“We look forward to working with [Pulte] and the FHFA staff on policies and programs that boost housing supply and create affordable opportunities for our nation’s home buyers and renters while protecting taxpayers and ensuring a robust secondary mortgage market and Federal Home Loan Bank system for single-family and multifamily lenders.”
“The conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was never intended to be permanent,” Broeksmit continued. “MBA stands ready to work with the administration and Congress to ensure that the transition to a post-conservatorship era for the GSEs is done the right way, including the critical step that Congress approves an explicit federal backstop for GSEs’ mortgage-backed securities, to prevent severe market disruptions.”
NAHB chairman Carl Harris also issued a statement following the nomination of Pulte.
“NAHB commends President-elect Trump’s selection of Bill Pulte as the next director of the FHFA. As a businessman and philanthropist with strong ties to the home building industry, Pulte understands the vital need to ensure that builders and developers have access to finance new housing and that consumers can readily obtain affordable mortgage credit. Once confirmed, NAHB looks forward to working with Pulte to promote a safe, sound and liquid housing finance system that helps builders increase the supply of new homes and apartments to meet the nation’s housing needs.”
Prior to his nomination to head the FHFA, there was speculation Pulte was a candidate for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Instead, Trump nominated former Texas lawmaker and NFL player Scott Turner for the role.
