Bill Pulte to be considered for HUD secretary, report claims

Bill Pulte, the philanthropist and CEO of Pulte Capital — and who shares a name with his grandfather, the founder of Atlanta-based homebuilder PulteGroup — is reportedly under consideration for the post of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary in the new Trump administration, according to a report from the New York Post.

Pulte is a regular and frequent poster on the social media platform X, having used the platform as the source of philanthropic giving to other platform users. He is also a vocal supporter of President-elect Donald Trump who lambasted the housing proposals of Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election campaign.

The Post reported that unnamed sources close to the situation claim that key transition figures are “loudly” advocating on his behalf. Additionally, they claim that Pulte has already had some conversations with members of the Trump transition team.

The report also noted that Ben Carson, the HUD secretary during Trump’s first term in office, is not interested in returning to the role. Instead, he is reportedly jockeying to become secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“Bill comes from a prominent family and is probably best qualified, probably overqualified,” the source said, according to the Post.

Pulte has also posted photos of himself on X in close proximity to Trump and high-profile figures of the 2024 campaign — including former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump himself.

Pulte said Tuesday in a post on X that Trump “is the only builder who has ever been elected president,” adding that he can take action on the federal lands owned by the government.

Following prior presidential elections that have resulted in a new occupant in the White House, the nominee for HUD secretary is typically a post that is announced within the first two weeks of December.

In 2008, following the victory of Barack Obama, Shaun Donovan was named the nominee-designate for HUD secretary on Dec. 13. In 2016, Carson was announced as the selection for the role on Dec. 5, roughly a month after Trump’s first election win. In 2020, Marcia Fudge was announced as the nominee on Dec. 8 for the Biden administration.

Pulte is no longer involved with PulteGroup. He sued leaders at the company in 2022 for allegedly harassing him on X, then known as Twitter.