Fed Up

“Don’t mess with the Fed” is standard advice for presidents and lawmakers. The idea is that, no matter how much you might disagree with any particular Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, the board’s independence is critical to ensuring confidence in the US economy.

That went by the wayside this summer after President Trump lambasted the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, and then escalated his attacks by pushing to have Fed governor Lisa Cook removed altogether. His chief ally has been Bill Pulte, the lucky grandson of a major homebuilder, who seems to have two jobs: director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and MAGA flamethrower on Twitter.

Pulte came up with an allegation (and a criminal referral to the Justice Department) that Cook had improperly claimed more than one property as a primary residence, supposedly committing fraud in the process.

Pulte might’ve called Dad first. Thanks to digging by Reuters’s Marisa Taylor, Chris Prentice, and Mike Colias, we now know that Mark Pulte and his wife, Julie (Bill’s stepmom), have been claiming homestead exemptions for properties in both Michigan and Florida since 2020. That can help cut tax bills, and that is also improper since most couples can have only one homestead. Michigan officials are sending a bill for back taxes to Pulte’s dad. (New Father’s Day card: “You’re the best, Pops! And sorry for siccing the tax guys on you. Your loving son, Bill.”)