By Sarah N. Lynch, Chris Prentice and Marisa Taylor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The internal watchdog for the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency is being removed from his role, three people familiar with the matter said, at a time when the housing regulator is playing a role in President Donald Trump's targeting of perceived political enemies.
The ouster of Joe Allen, FHFA's acting inspector general, follows the agency's director, Bill Pulte, becoming an outspoken voice in support of the Trump administration.
The FHFA did not immediately respond to emails and a call seeking comment. The three people spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss internal moves at the agency.
Created after the 2008 financial crisis, the FHFA is typically low-profile but Pulte has launched a new hotline targeting mortgage fraud and made public criminal referrals against a series of Trump foes including New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Pulte has circumvented the agency's Office of Inspector General in pursuing those cases, Reuters previously reported.
Allen also served as chief counsel of the FHFA's inspector general's office. It was not immediately clear whether he was continuing in that latter role, the three people said.
Allen could not be reached for comment.
He became FHFA's acting inspector general in April 2025, according to an archived page of the agency's website.
On Monday, the website for the FHFA's Office of Inspector General listed the position as "currently vacant". It was unclear when the website was updated.
The most recent snapshot available via the Internet Archive was from late September and listed Allen as acting inspector general.
New York Attorney General James, a Democrat who last year secured a $450 million fraud judgment against Trump, last month pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of allegedly lying on mortgage documents after Pulte suggested the Justice Department investigate her.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Chris Prentice and Marisa Taylor; editing by Scott Malone and Nia Williams)
