The head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency took to his social media account Wednesday to call for Congress to investigate Jerome Powell, saying he should be removed.
FHFA Director Bill Pulte posted a letter from the FHFA on X blasting Powell — the latest salvo in his push for the Federal Reserve chairman to step down over the agency's decision to maintain the benchmark interest rate between 4.25% and 4.5%.
"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 in his statement. Pulte was repeating allegations by Senator Cynthia Lummis about Powell's testimony on June 25, characterizing renovations to the Federal Reserve headquarters.
Powell declined a Homes.com request to comment, but he told the Senate committee that news reports that there will be new elevators, water features, white marble and a rooftop terrace "are just flatly misleading."
He told the House the day before that he expected inflation to rise because of the tariff policies the Trump administration is imposing. The Fed has determined that it needs to stand pat to deal with inflation that is higher than its 2% target. Inflation hovers at 2.4%, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Consumer Price Index.
President Donald Trump, Pulte and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have applied pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut rates.
