Housing Chief Bill Pulte Becomes a Potential Liability for Trump

Bill Pulte has made a name for himself by slinging dirt at Donald Trump’s foes — but some of the president’s aides now fear he isn’t up to doing his job: overseeing the $13 trillion US mortgage market.

When Pulte was picked to take the helm of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Trump transition team considered the posting more of a backwater, according to people familiar with the process.

Yet housing sits atop a list of grievances many voters have about the high cost of living, and that’s left ...