Bill Pulte has called on Congress to investigate whether Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell misled lawmakers in his testimony regarding a lavish $2.5 billion revamp of the Federal Reserve s palatial D.C. headquarters.
00:00:00.000Welcome back. We're back in the Stone Zone. Today's New York Post reports that the Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte has called on Congress to investigate whether Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell misled lawmakers in his testimony regarding a lavish $2.5 billion revamp of the Federal Reserve's
00:00:29.420palatial D.C. headquarters. Pulte has been a sharp critic of Chairman Powell, pointing out that despite the fact that both inflation and unemployment are lower today than when the Federal Reserve last cut interest rates, Powell has stoutly refused to cut interest rates on the American people. Joining us now is a man who's all over the news today.
00:00:56.200He is the fifth Director of the U.S. Federal Housing Agency. In that position, he also oversees and serves as Chairman of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two principal mortgage vehicles for the federal government, as well as overseeing the Federal Home Loan Banks. Bill Pulte, welcome in to the Stone Zone.
00:01:18.940Thank you, Roger. Always good to be with you. What a crazy day, huh?
00:01:22.300It really is. You've raised some very serious questions here. You've called for a congressional investigation. Break this down for us, if you will.
00:01:31.700Well, I really haven't heard from a lot of people that I heard from today in a long time. I mean, it's everywhere, and I think that it really strikes a chord with people, Roger.
00:01:40.940I don't think it's really about what I did or President Trump or yourself or anyone else in this world. I think it really has to do with Jerome Powell and his actions.
00:01:50.280You know, we had to deal with this guy all throughout COVID, as you remember. Everybody's so used to seeing this guy on TV during COVID.
00:01:57.320And now he's still here, but, you know, he's out there doing a $2.5 billion renovation on a building, which, you know, I know a lot about construction, Roger.
00:02:06.800It would be very hard for me to spend $2.5 billion on a renovation, just to be frank.
00:02:13.000And then on top of it is he's sitting there and not lowering interest rates despite inflation being lower.
00:02:19.000So the whole thing stinks to high heaven, and we're going to get to the bottom of it.
00:02:25.060Yeah, I mean, it's really shocking. He won't cut interest rates despite the fact that today both inflation and unemployment are lower than the last time the Federal Reserve cut interest rates ahead of the 2024 elections.
00:02:42.980Very clearly a political move designed to try to help Joe Biden.
00:02:46.720That didn't work out so well. But his whole let him eat, take mentality is really offensive.
00:02:54.280He said before Congress that this $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve's incredibly palatial headquarters,
00:03:06.420he specifically said there is no VIP dining room, there is no new marble, there are no special elevators,
00:03:14.460there are no new water features, there's no beehives, there's no roof terrace gardens,
00:03:21.920and none of that turns out to be true.
00:03:25.020According to the plan approved by the government, pen pushers,
00:03:30.180their private dining room on level four is being completely restored,
00:03:34.980that there is a new private elevator for the use of the Fed governors
00:03:40.460that will discharge them at the dining suite level.
00:03:43.880The document expressly mentions a vegetated roof garden with urban wildlife and a spectacular view of D.C.'s skyline,
00:03:56.240as well as new water and marble features.
00:04:00.380So it appears to me that he lied and he lied on a material matter.
00:04:06.840I was once accused of lying to Congress, but I had no motive to lie and no misstatement I made to Congress covered any underlying crime,
00:04:15.500nor was it material to Russian collusion because there was no Russian collusion.
00:04:20.700In this case, there is a $2.5 billion plan.
00:04:23.840While the American people are struggling, struggling certainly to buy a home or to buy a car,
00:04:32.300I don't know how he justifies his position other than to say tariffs, which is not much of an answer.
00:04:40.680Well, he's got real problems and he's going to continue to have real problems because, you know,
00:04:46.120people look the other way for a long period of time.
00:05:36.860And honestly, Roger, I think that Jerome Powell has created his own reality where he somehow thinks that it's fine that he has created this $2.5 billion renovation
00:05:47.580and that he hasn't lowered interest rates.
00:05:50.240And I don't know what reality that is, but it's certainly not one that I would ever want to live in.
00:05:55.460You know, the excuse he gives is tariffs.
00:05:59.340He and many in the economics establishment have been conditioned to treat tariffs as inherently harmful.
00:06:32.900But the arrogance here, the politicization is kind of obvious.
00:06:38.100He is also, as we've had Barry Habib, the housing and mortgage guru on the show,
00:06:45.520Powell stubbornly insists that he doesn't have the data to justify an interest rate cut.
00:06:53.380You look at the data, I mean, it's like Barry points out, you know, 1.6% is the annualized CPI number.
00:07:00.700And that literally tells you what prices are.
00:07:03.200And you're running at 1.6%, but your interest rate is 4.5%.
00:07:07.560I mean, anybody with a napkin can figure out that that's 2% to 3% way too high.
00:07:13.780And I personally believe that Jerome Powell is purposely doing this because he hates the president and because he wants to hurt the president.
00:07:23.120And it's very sad because Jerome Powell is actually hurting the American people.
00:07:26.860You know, President Trump is very tough, but a lot of American people have these interest expenses.
00:07:31.520And so when you have, you know, CPI trailing at, you know, let's call it 1.6% on a run rate basis,
00:07:38.580you apply it over a yearly period, and then you've got these interest rates at 4.5%.
00:07:43.420That's enough to do substantial damage to the economy.
00:07:47.620And I think it's, as I said, I think it's going to get worse,
00:07:50.920and I think the data is going to continue to prove out to be true that he is doing this with willful, willful intent.
00:07:57.880Yeah, I mean, looking at your statement, it was interesting.
00:08:01.860You not only pointed out that he may have dissembled before Congress,
00:08:06.140but you also suggested that the Congress investigate his political bias.
00:08:12.840I mean, I think they have the authority to do that.
00:13:48.480Well, the brilliance of doing away with the tax on tips, for example, which really did come from a conversation that he had with a cocktail waitress when he was campaigning in Las Vegas.
00:14:00.720I think it tipped the silver state of Nevada, a swing state, a state that Republicans lost in the last presidential election.
00:14:11.240It was one of the more brilliant pieces of the big, beautiful bill.
00:14:35.260He understands the language and the instincts and the feelings of the working people.
00:14:42.480It's why I think he's going to go down in history as one of our greatest presidents.
00:14:46.900All right, I'm afraid we have to wrap it there.
00:14:50.220I want to thank our guest, Bill Pulte, who is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and who today called for a congressional investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
00:15:04.440Bill, thank you for entering the Stone Zone.
00:15:06.740This is the Stone Zone with Roger Stone.
00:15:18.580This is the Stone Zone with Roger Stone.
00:15:43.540Thanks again to Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
00:15:49.460Breaking news here in the Stone Zone, calling for a congressional investigation into whether Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve,
00:15:58.180lied to Congress about a $2.4 billion renovation to the palatial headquarters of the Federal Reserve.
00:16:08.020Also, Pulte criticized the director of the Fed for his stout refusal to cut interest rates on the American people,
00:16:15.480despite the fact that both the inflation rate and the unemployment rate, the two measures the Fed uses,
00:16:21.760are lower than they were when the Fed last cut rates ahead of the 2024 election.
00:16:31.400Meanwhile, the University of Pennsylvania has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Education rejecting transgender insanity
00:16:43.420after letting a biological man, Leah Thomas, dominate women in swimming competitions.
00:16:49.880U.Penn has agreed to give titles and records back to female athletes who were robbed of these honors because they were misappropriated by male athletes
00:17:01.620who were allowed to compete in female categories.
00:17:04.560The Trump administration initiated an investigation into the University of Pennsylvania early this year before freezing $175 million in funding for the university
00:17:18.740after it refused to comply with a DEI-related executive order.
00:17:25.180The Feds later determined that U.Penn had in fact violated Title IX rules,
00:17:32.020allowing Thomas to participate in a female swimming competition, denying opportunity to competitors who were biological females.
00:17:43.560University of Penn officials will be issuing apologies to the women who were adversely impacted by their embrace of this transgender insanity.
00:17:53.980This, I think, shows how the Trump administration is fulfilling its mandate of eliminating wokeism from our culture.
00:18:01.520As the country is no longer held hostage to the delusions and perversions of a fringe leftist minority.
00:18:11.500Meanwhile, the Congressional Black Caucus is big mad after the corporate retailer Target announced they would no longer be giving money to that nonprofit.
00:18:22.980Target has been giving at least $1.4 million in annual donations to the Congressional Black Caucus Fund,
00:18:30.340as well as additional money to other racial justice groups for years hoping to avoid a multicultural mob from ransacking their stores,
00:18:40.700like they did after the death of serial felon George Floyd back in 2020.
00:18:48.060With Black Lives Matter mania waning in recent years,
00:18:52.900Target has determined they will no longer have to participate in this racial protection racket anymore.
00:18:59.340They announced back in January they would be cutting off their funding to the Congressional Black Caucus and similar organizations.
00:19:09.120The Congressional Black Caucus struck back by announcing a boycott of Target,
00:19:14.740which I don't think will be terribly successful.