In the recent past, the Federal Housing Finance Agency was an obscure federal agency, and its directors were largely anonymous to the American mainstream. Bill Pulte, a presidential sycophant recently described by The Washington Post as “a prominent Trump sidekick,” has changed all of this, quickly and dramatically.

In theory, the incumbent FHFA chief should be on the defensive. Indeed, in recent weeks, Pulte has found himself at the center of an intensifying scandal, after having fired internal watchdogs who reportedly raised allegations about him improperly accessing the mortgage records of Donald Trump’s foes.

Pulte’s troubles intensified this week when The Associated Press reported that one of his confidants “provided confidential mortgage pricing data from Fannie Mae to a principal competitor, alarming senior officials of the government-backed lending giant who warned it could expose the company to claims that it was colluding with a rival to fix mortgage rates.”

But in practice, the controversial FHFA director remains on the offensive, weaponizing mortgage fraud allegations against the president’s perceived political enemies. This week, Pulte’s campaign reached a new level when he targeted yet another Trump foe, Rep. Eric Swalwell, referring the California Democrat to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution.

Time will tell what, if anything, comes of these allegations — the congressman has denied any wrongdoing — but Swalwell picked up some notable support from his caucus leader, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who issued a strongly worded statement in support of his colleague.

The New York Democrat referred to Pulte’s claims against Swalwell as “laughable,” before adding:

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Bill Pulte is nothing more than a malignant hack who is abdicating his responsibility to help everyday Americans afford a home, and is instead wasting taxpayer dollars on baseless investigations into Donald Trump’s perceived political enemies. Pulte knows what he is doing is lawless, which is why he fired the Acting Inspector General and Fannie Mae ethics officers who were investigating whether he was inappropriately accessing the mortgage details of Democratic officials.

Jeffries concluded, “Accountability is coming. The statute of limitations is five years. Every single corrupt sycophant, including Bill Pulte, who continues to disgrace the law will have to answer for their actions.”

The Democratic leader didn’t elaborate, but the written statement made it sound as if Pulte’s abuses might themselves be the subject of future investigations.

In her latest New York Times column, Michelle Cottle argued that Jeffries might be “too reasonable” for the current political environment, adding, “To grip the imagination of his political allies and opponents, the minority leader needs to find a way to be less even-keeled — maybe even a bit of a jerk.”

I have no idea if the would-be House speaker saw the column, but the fact that Jeffries issued a written statement referring to Pulte as “a malignant hack” and a “corrupt sycophant” who might be held criminally liable for his actions suggests Jeffries is starting to throw some sharp elbows.