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Fact Check: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threaten Powell's job over interest rates!

Fact Check: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threaten Powell's job over interest rates!

Published June 19, 2025
ByFactChecker 1.1 avatarFactChecker 1.1
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VERDICT
False

# Fact Check: "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threaten Powell's job over interest rates!" ## What We Know The claim that "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac thre...

Fact Check: "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threaten Powell's job over interest rates!"

What We Know

The claim that "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threaten Powell's job over interest rates" stems from a statement made by the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In a recent interview, the FHFA chief suggested that if the Federal Reserve did not cut interest rates, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell should resign. This statement was reported by various news outlets, including The Hill.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that play a crucial role in the housing finance system. They are regulated by the FHFA, which is responsible for ensuring their financial soundness and compliance with housing policies. The FHFA's 2023 Housing Mission Report indicates that elevated interest rates have significantly impacted housing affordability and the overall market, leading to calls for policy adjustments (Federal Housing Finance Agency).

Analysis

The statement made by the FHFA chief can be interpreted as a strong criticism of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy rather than a direct threat to Powell's job. While the phrasing used by the FHFA chief may imply a drastic stance, it is essential to understand the context in which such statements are made. The head of the FHFA is advocating for lower interest rates to improve housing affordability, a critical issue given the rising costs of homeownership in recent years (Monetary Policy Report).

However, the assertion that this constitutes a "threat" to Powell's job is misleading. The Federal Reserve operates independently of the executive branch and other regulatory agencies, including the FHFA. While public statements from agency heads can influence public perception and policy discussions, they do not equate to direct threats or coercive actions against the Federal Reserve Chair. The integrity of the Federal Reserve's independence is a cornerstone of U.S. monetary policy (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Single-Family Report).

The reliability of the sources reporting on this issue varies. While The Hill is a reputable news outlet, it is essential to consider the broader context provided by official reports from the FHFA and the Federal Reserve, which outline the complexities of interest rate policies and their implications for the housing market.

Conclusion

The claim that "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threaten Powell's job over interest rates" is False. While the FHFA chief did make a strong statement regarding interest rates and suggested Powell should resign if rates are not cut, this does not constitute a formal threat to his position. The statement reflects a policy disagreement rather than an actionable threat, and the independence of the Federal Reserve remains intact.

Sources

  1. PDF 2023 Housing Mission Report - Federal Housing Finance Agency
  2. Monetary Policy Report, March 3, 2023
  3. PDF FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC SINGLE-FAMILY - Federal Housing Finance Agency
  4. Powell letter
  5. Annual Report to Congress - 2023 | FHFA - Federal Housing Finance Agency
  6. Global Markets Analysis Report
  7. Global Markets Analysis Report
  8. Fannie, Freddie oversight chief to Powell: Cut rates or resign

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Fact Check: Transcript 00:00 I cannot believe that Trump is cutting Medicaid. Actually, what I meant to say is that I can't believe he's not cutting more of it because medicaid is a money laundering scheme for your government. Congratulations all you bleeding heart democrats. Instead of raging against the machine, you're bending over for it. Medicaid is jointly run by the states and the feds and for every one dollar that your state allocates to the program, the Feds turn around and match that at a level of one 00 percent so one dollar up to nine dollars. And this money comes from taxpayers in other 00:34 states. Your money has a 900% return rate at someone else's expense. Why wouldn't you expand the program? Thanks Obama. That's exactly how we wound up with way too many Medicaid recipients in the first place. Like everything related to healthcare the providers are in bed with the government on this one too because the government can tax the providers. 1. Use that dollar to collect the up to nine dollars in federal funds and to reimburse the provider their original dollar. What? Robbing the taxpayer to pad the funding pool leading to increase reimbursements for 01:06 Medicaid for the providers. Yeah, if I'm a doctor or a health care facility, I'm saying sign me up to that. Yes, the medical industrial complex totally has your best interest in mind so go ahead and swallow up those vaccines like a good little comrade. Age me harder daddy. And speaking of comrades, do you know how many people in this country receive Medicaid that shouldn't? Before you start screaming, everyone should get free health care. Not the argument here. We do not have universal health care in the United States. It doesn't work and since we don't have it, that means someone is paying for it and guess what? There are lower-income families 01:37 who don't qualify for the benefits but they're taxpayers and they're being burdened by this. Back to the point which is that the system is insanely abused. I used to do child support referee work for years and you would v

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Transcript 00:00 I cannot believe that Trump is cutting Medicaid. Actually, what I meant to say is that I can't believe he's not cutting more of it because medicaid is a money laundering scheme for your government. Congratulations all you bleeding heart democrats. Instead of raging against the machine, you're bending over for it. Medicaid is jointly run by the states and the feds and for every one dollar that your state allocates to the program, the Feds turn around and match that at a level of one 00 percent so one dollar up to nine dollars. And this money comes from taxpayers in other 00:34 states. Your money has a 900% return rate at someone else's expense. Why wouldn't you expand the program? Thanks Obama. That's exactly how we wound up with way too many Medicaid recipients in the first place. Like everything related to healthcare the providers are in bed with the government on this one too because the government can tax the providers. 1. Use that dollar to collect the up to nine dollars in federal funds and to reimburse the provider their original dollar. What? Robbing the taxpayer to pad the funding pool leading to increase reimbursements for 01:06 Medicaid for the providers. Yeah, if I'm a doctor or a health care facility, I'm saying sign me up to that. Yes, the medical industrial complex totally has your best interest in mind so go ahead and swallow up those vaccines like a good little comrade. Age me harder daddy. And speaking of comrades, do you know how many people in this country receive Medicaid that shouldn't? Before you start screaming, everyone should get free health care. Not the argument here. We do not have universal health care in the United States. It doesn't work and since we don't have it, that means someone is paying for it and guess what? There are lower-income families 01:37 who don't qualify for the benefits but they're taxpayers and they're being burdened by this. Back to the point which is that the system is insanely abused. I used to do child support referee work for years and you would v

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Detailed fact-check analysis of: Transcript 00:00 For all of their strutting about protesting that they support democracy. Not a one of them gave a damn about democracy when they pulled Biden off the ballot and dropped Kamala Harris in without a single Democrat primary voter voting for him. And you know what? Not a single Democrat is here today because not a single one of them gives a damn about the fact that they lied to the American people for four years. They knew Every one of them knew that Joe Biden was 00:34 mentally not competent to do the job. The White House Press Secretary. She knew when she stood in front of the American people and lied over and over and over again and they're not here because they can't defend themselves. It wasn't a surprise for four years the White House hid President Biden from Republican Senators. Would not let him meet with us. He served 40 years in this body. We all know him. And they deliberately lied and by the way Jake Tapper had a bombshell 01:08 book exposing the incredible scandal that Biden's mental decline was covered up by Jake Tapper. There's a Yiddish word and that truly is how dare we lie and cover up what we all knew. Now I have been asked literally a thousand times by Texans. Was running the country? And I'm going to give 01:40 you the most terrifying answer. I don't know. I genuinely don't know. And not a single Democrat here cares. The most telling proof of Biden's decline came with the signature of the president. The symbol of executive authority that was outsourced to a machine. Mister Wald you're a lawyer who served in the White House Council's Office. You understand the gravity of presidential action. Does the president's signature 02:10 carry legal and constitutional weight under article two? Yes. Is the act of signing an executive order or signing a law or granting a pardon a delegable duty of the president. Uh so in that opinion in 2005 from OLC they said essentially that an autopin could be used by a subordinate but the president's determination as to sign the document can never be delegated. Can that authority 02:41 be transferred to a staff or a machine without the president's explicit authorization? Never. And if you look at the statistics, the statistics are stunning. In 2021, President Biden issued 78 executive orders. None were signed with an auto pen. That first year the presidency, Biden I suppose was relatively lucid and 78 executive orders he signed by hand. The second year, however, we see the auto pen emerged. 03:15 The first auto pen executive order was issued on 15th 2022. After that day 100% of the executive orders issued in 2022 were signed by an autopen. In 2023 Biden issued twenty-four executive orders. 16 were auto penned. In 20twenty-four Biden issued 19. 14 were auto penned. 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