According to Fortune, Fannie Mae’s head of marketing Lauren Smith shared confidential mortgage pricing data with rival Freddie Mac in October 2023 at the direction of Trump housing regulator Bill Pulte. Senior Fannie Mae executives immediately flagged the data transfer as “very problematic” and warned it could expose the company to collusion claims in an October 11 email chain that included CEO Priscilla Almodovar. Just days later, Almodovar and other senior officials who raised concerns were forced out of their jobs, while Pulte loyalists were promoted. The episode has drawn condemnation from Democrats including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who called for Pulte to answer questions before Congress. Internal ethics watchdogs investigating Pulte were also dismissed in the late January purge that rattled the housing industry.
Pulte’s unusual power grab
Here’s the thing about Bill Pulte – he’s not your typical housing regulator. The 37-year-old scion of a homebuilding fortune basically turned what’s normally a low-profile position into a political weapon. After his Senate confirmation to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, he appointed himself chairman of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, giving him unprecedented control over the entire mortgage ecosystem. And he’s been using that power in ways that clearly align with Trump’s political interests.
Think about it – he’s launched mortgage fraud investigations against prominent Democrats like Adam Schiff and Letitia James. He pushed Fannie and Freddie to prepare proposals for accepting cryptocurrency right as Trump was boosting the industry. He even floated that widely criticized 50-year mortgage idea that would dramatically increase borrowing costs for homeowners. This isn’t subtle stuff.
The social media connection
What’s really fascinating is how much of this drama appears to have started with social media posts. In October, Trump posted on Truth Social complaining that homebuilders were “sitting on 2 million empty lots” and demanding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “get Big Homebuilders going.” Pulte immediately responded “On it” on X, where he has over 3 million followers. Days later, you had this whole confidential data sharing operation underway.
And let’s talk about Lauren Smith for a second. According to the AP’s reporting, she’d become such a trusted Pulte ally that her work portfolio “transcended the boundaries dividing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHFA.” That’s basically saying she was operating outside the normal corporate structure that’s supposed to keep these entities separate. When you’re sharing confidential lender-level pricing data between competitors, you’re playing with fire.
The cover-up and purge
The timing here is just too convenient to ignore. On October 11, senior executives are raising red flags about confidential data being shared. They’re copying the CEO, they’re bringing in legal counsel who says this information should “never be shared” and could “put the company at risk.” Then days later? The people who raised concerns are out of jobs, while Pulte loyalists get promoted.
Meanwhile, the ethics officials who were investigating whether Pulte improperly obtained mortgage information for Letitia James – who was then charged with bank fraud based on Pulte’s referral – they got fired too. It’s the kind of purge that makes you wonder what else they might have uncovered. The Wall Street Journal reported this was all part of the same cleanup operation.
Broader implications
This isn’t just some bureaucratic squabble – we’re talking about companies that hold trillions in assets and essentially backstop the entire U.S. mortgage market. When you’ve got one person controlling both the regulator AND the regulated entities, with allies freely sharing confidential competitive information between supposed rivals, you’ve created the perfect conditions for market manipulation.
Pulte’s also been publicly attacking Fed Chair Jay Powell on social media, which is another unusual move for someone in his position. He’s basically using every lever of power available to him to advance political goals rather than focusing on the actual housing crisis Americans are facing.
The really concerning part? This all happened right before the 2024 election cycle really heated up. And with Democrats now calling for investigations, we’re probably just seeing the beginning of this story. When you combine confidential data sharing with political purges and personal loyalty tests, you’re creating a system where the rules only apply to some people.
