Platform X cited privacy considerations and insufficient legal grounds for denying the request.
The social media platform X has turned down Senator Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) appeal to access and provide over 24,000 deleted social media posts made by William Pulte, who has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
“We received a letter last week from Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, asking for all the activity from a nominee’s account since its creation,” the company communicated.
“X is dedicated to safeguarding the privacy of its users and will not release user data unless there is a valid and compelling legal basis for doing so. Senator Warren’s letter does not provide any legal justification that would allow or require X to deviate from this duty.”
This statement follows a letter Warren sent to X CEO Linda Yaccarino on February 26, in which she expressed concerns over the significant deletion of Pulte’s posts, suggesting that his social media history could reveal his policy views and qualifications to manage agencies overseeing $8.1 trillion in mortgage financing.
“Due to the importance of the position, the Committee has initiated a review of Mr. Pulte’s tweets to assess his policy positions, temperament, and suitability for service,” Warren stated in a
public statement, describing the mass deletions as a “startling discovery.”
Pulte, recognized for his philanthropic activities on social media, has gained over 3 million followers on X, where he frequently donates money to Trump supporters or in response to posts from the former president.
In her correspondence with Yaccarino, Warren also referenced a bipartisan precedent for such requests, highlighting a 2021 case in which then-Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)
requested deleted tweets from two nominees of President Joe Biden. Warren asked X to disclose all of Pulte’s posts from the inception of his account in 2009 and requested a reply by March 3.
Pulte, also the CEO of Pulte Capital Partners and the grandson of prominent builder William Pulte, was
nominated by Trump to president the FHFA, which oversees Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. The president has expressed confidence in Pulte,
indicating on Truth Social that he anticipates Pulte will help “restore the American Dream FOR ALL.”
Pulte
underwent a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on February 27, but the full Senate has yet to cast a vote on his nomination.
Warren’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding X’s decision to reject her appeal.
