FHFA's internal watchdog reportedly ousted

The inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has reportedly been ousted, leaving vacant a key internal overseer. 

Acting IG Joe Allen is being removed from his role, Reuters reported Monday afternoon, citing four unnamed sources. Allen, the Office of Inspector General's chief counsel and a longtime Department of Justice employee, replaced former Biden appointee Brian Tomney in April, according to an archived biography page. 

The OIG is responsible for independent audits, investigations and other FHFA oversight activities, according to the agency. The office frequently published reports this year, including the OIG's fiscal year 2026 annual plan in September. 

Allen's apparent removal comes amid Director Bill Pulte's swift and wide-ranging changes at the regulator, and multiple mortgage fraud probes which some have accused of being politicized. 

It's also unclear if Allen's departure is related to a recent round of layoffs at Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise the agency oversees. Those cuts reportedly affected ethics positions as well, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The IG's bio Monday said the position is currently vacant. Nobody picked up the FHFA OIG's hotline Monday afternoon, and neither spokespersons for the FHFA, now known as U.S. Federal Finance, nor the FHFA OIG responded to immediate requests for comment. 

Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a frequent Pulte critic, said in a statement Monday afternoon that the director "has some answering to do."

"What does Pulte have to hide as he continues to use his role to investigate President Trump's perceived political enemies while failing to lower housing costs for the American people?" she said.

Allen's predecessor Tomney in April had responded to Democrats' demands to probe Pulte's activities, then deferring questions to the agency itself. It's unclear if Tomney resigned or was fired in the spring by the Trump administration, which continues to purge IGs at other offices.

Pulte, who frequently makes proclamations, policy decisions and other political commentary on his social media feed, had not publicly commented on Allen nor the OIG since he took office in March. 

He has however frequently sparred with Warren and other commentators who have questioned his leadership of the agency and the fraud investigations targeting foes of President Trump. 

Following a lengthy social media campaign this summer calling on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to resign over his purported refusal to lower rates, he turned his attacks to Fed Governor Lisa Cook, who he accused of mortgage fraud. Cook, who has not been indicted on fraud charges, is fighting Trump's move to fire her in a case that has reached the Supreme Court.

Pulte has also accused longtime Trump adversaries New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., of lying on their mortgage applications, and James has since pleaded not guilty to federal charges.