A top official in Donald Trump’s administration might soon be leaving his job after a controversial housing idea caused chaos inside the White House.
According to a report from Politico, the trouble began with Bill Pulte, who serves as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and also oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Pulte was reportedly the person behind Trump’s online post promoting a new idea — a 50-year mortgage. The post quickly drew criticism from housing experts, financial analysts, and even Trump’s own supporters. White House officials were said to be “furious” with Pulte, and several MAGA figures, including Laura Loomer and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, spoke out against the proposal.
The story goes that Pulte approached Trump during a weekend at Mar-a-Lago with a small piece of poster board. On one side, it showed a picture of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt with the words “30-year mortgage,” and on the other side, a picture of Trump with “50-year mortgage.” Trump was apparently impressed enough to share the image on his Truth Social account, where it is still visible.
After Trump’s post, Pulte followed up on social media, saying, “Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on the 50-year mortgage — a complete game changer.” But that statement didn’t go over well.
Experts quickly criticized the plan. Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities, explained that a 50-year mortgage might seem like a quick fix for affordability problems, but it actually creates long-term issues. Homeowners would take far longer to build equity since most of the early payments would go toward interest rather than the actual home value. In other words, people would own their homes much more slowly.
According to Politico, the backlash over this idea has been greater than nearly any other policy proposal in Trump’s second term. One source familiar with what happened at Mar-a-Lago said Pulte may have seriously damaged his reputation with Trump, who was embarrassed by how badly the idea was received.
The source didn’t hold back, saying, “It’s obvious now that Bill Pulte doesn’t understand how the mortgage market even works. After embarrassing the president publicly with his foolish 50-year mortgage plan, it’s safe to say his job might not last much longer.”
After the criticism, Pulte tried to soften his stance. He later claimed that the 50-year mortgage was just one of many possible ideas being discussed to make housing more affordable. Other suggestions reportedly included portable mortgages, which allow homeowners to move their loan to a new property, and assumable mortgages, which can be transferred to a new buyer when a home is sold.
The incident shows how a single post and poorly received idea can cause serious political fallout — even among close allies inside Trump’s circle.
