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The Trump administration cut roughly a dozen senior ethics and internal investigations officials from Fannie Mae on October 30, marking the latest in a string of personnel upheavals at the government-sponsored mortgage giant this year.
The terminations were carried out during a virtual meeting and came shortly after the departure of Fannie Mae’s chief ethics officer. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who also chairs Fannie Mae’s board, oversaw the moves.
What happened and why it matters
The dismissed officials worked in ethics enforcement and internal investigations, the teams responsible for making sure the company handling trillions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities plays by the rules.
The firings were part of a broader reduction that affected approximately 62 employees across multiple departments, including diversity, equity, and inclusion roles, IT, and operations functions reporting to the chief operating officer.
The investigation angle
The timing of these dismissals is particularly notable because they arrived amid active investigations into whether senior FHFA officials improperly accessed confidential mortgage records belonging to high-profile Democrats, including New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Earlier in 2025, Pulte’s FHFA terminated more than 100 Fannie Mae employees for what the agency described as unethical conduct related to charitable programs.
A pattern of restructuring
Pulte’s dual role as both FHFA director and Fannie Mae board chair gives him an unusual degree of control over the enterprise. The FHFA was created as an independent regulator after the 2008 financial crisis, when Fannie Mae and its sibling Freddie Mac required a combined taxpayer bailout. Since then, both entities have operated under government conservatorship, a status that has now lasted over 17 years.
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