Dems blast housing regulator Pulte for slashing watchdog’s budget
Por Victoria Guida — POLITICO – TOP Stories
The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday evening announced cuts to the budget of the regulator’s inspector general, in a move criticized by senior Democratic lawmakers as an attempt by FHFA Director Bill Pulte to shut down the watchdog.
FHFA in a press release said its Office of Inspector General was “an extraordinary budgetary outlier among its peer OIGs” because its budget request was 16% of the agency’s operating budget, compared to an average of 2%. “FHFA cannot justify such a discrepancy to the American people,” the agency said.
Senate Banking Committee aides said the inspector general had informed House and Senate committees that the budget cuts will require its office to wind down its operations and cut almost all of its staff.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement with multiple other ranking Democrats on committees, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), that Pulte should step down.
“Bill Pulte is shutting down the independent watchdog that is responsible for investigating his misconduct – like his efforts to weaponize private mortgage data in sham investigations against the President’s perceived political enemies,” they said. “Pulte’s corrupt crusade to protect himself and President Trump from accountability will likely result in the firing of approximately 40 law enforcement personnel who protect families from mortgage fraud. Bill Pulte should resign, and if he does not, Congress must hold him accountable.”
Pulte posted on X in response that Warren, using a derogatory nickname, wants to “waste precious federal money like a drunken sailor.”
The FHFA website listed the role of inspector general as vacant in November after Reuters reported that acting Inspector General Joe Allen was facing termination. The outlet previously reported that Pulte had circumvented the inspector general’s office by making criminal referrals on alleged mortgage fraud against Trump adversaries Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories
