Trump aides seethe over his favorite adviser’s growing influence

U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

President Donald Trump’s inner circle has growing frustrations over his deep trust in Bill Pulte, Director of U.S. Federal Housing. Pulte oversees the U.S. housing finance system. He’s been in the role since March 2025.

A new report from The Daily Beast notes that insiders told NBC those around Trump are resentful of how much influence Pulte has on him, and much of Pulte’s influence is due to his proximity to the president.

Pulte is said to always be around Trump, and it’s not just in a professional sense. The two often travel together on domestic trips and spend weekends together at Trump’s golf clubs. Things are growing tense as sources say Pulte is now pitching random ideas to the president that are considered to be nonsensical.

“He comes up with the weirdest ideas and is just always there to pitch them to the president. I don’t know why, but sometimes he listens,” one Trump adviser told NBC News. “The president loves him, even if no one else does,” another anonymous source claimed.

They say Pulte knows how to manipulate Trump with pitches, using images or graphs rather than lengthy text. In Trump’s ongoing efforts to demolish the historic Kennedy Center amid backlash to rename it after him, Trump was recently seen holding a large poster aboard Air Force One that appeared to read “Kennedy Center Demolished” while standing next to Pulte. A source alleges Pulte is the mastermind behind the poster. Pulte is also said to have been the one to pitch the idea to Trump of converting the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House into an indoor swimming pool.

And his ideas don’t stop there. Pulte is reportedly responsible for introducing a 50-year mortgage. He is also credited with urging Trump to veto a bipartisan housing bill that Republicans hoped to tout as a key response to the cost-of-living crisis.

Depending on who you ask, Pulte seems to enjoy rubbing others the wrong way with his access to Trump. One former administration official said Pulte stands around the West Wing with a poster in hand, waiting to “intercept the president,” causing further annoyance. “He will say, ‘The president wants me to be on this trip,’” one Trump adviser said. “He is always on trips, that’s his thing.”

Trump has praised Pulte. Not only does he appreciate Pulte’s loyalty, but he is also fond of Pulte’s aggressive support of the administration's agenda and considers him to be a great financial leader.

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