GAO Opens Inquiry Into FHFA Director Bill Pulte
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’s independent, nonpartisan watchdog, has confirmed it has accepted a request to investigate Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte. The inquiry follows a November letter from top Senate Democrats asking the GAO to "promptly investigate recent actions undertaken at the Federal Housing Finance Agency" by Pulte.
The Senate request highlighted Pulte’s referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice involving New York Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and Congressman Eric Swalwell, each of whom has denied any wrongdoing.
A GAO spokesperson told reporters that the office "has accepted this request following our standard process." The spokesperson added that GAO will begin by defining the full scope of the review and the methodology to be used, a scoping phase that can take several months and does not yet have a completion date.
The FHFA declined to comment.
Pulte has faced persistent questions about how the mortgage documents that underpin those referrals were obtained. In a September interview on CNBC, he said he had received a "tip" but declined to disclose its source.
"I’m not going to explain our sources and methods," Pulte said. "We make referrals almost every day. Lisa Cook happened to be one of them."
Since his appointment as FHFA director, Pulte — in a role that is usually low profile — has become an outspoken critic of several Democratic officials targeted by President Donald Trump and has publicly criticized some Federal Reserve officials. He was one of a small group of officials who accompanied the president during a July visit to the Federal Reserve’s headquarters while the building was under renovation, and he has echoed the president’s criticisms of the Fed on social media.
In August, President Trump moved to remove Governor Lisa Cook. In a letter posted on Truth Social, the president cited a referral from Pulte to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. That dispute is now scheduled for argument before the Supreme Court in January.
Reports say Pulte’s confrontational approach has frustrated some colleagues within the administration, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to media reports, Bessent allegedly threatened to punch Pulte after an encounter between the two men at a White House dinner in September.
Asked about the report on CNBC, Bessent said: "Treasury secretaries dating back to Alexander Hamilton have a history of dueling. With President Trump’s team, just like any great sports team, you can argue in the locker room, but we get out in the field and do the best for the President and the American people every day."
The GAO inquiry will examine Pulte’s decisions and methods in referring multiple elected officials and public servants to the Justice Department. Officials said the formal scoping phase will determine the precise focus and timeline for the work.
