The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that President Donald Trump's housing finance director, Bill Pulte, has given government-backed lenders the authority to nearly double a $200-billion bond purchase ordered by Mr. Trump to lower mortgage rates, potentially upping risk for the companies involved (all figures U.S.). An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent an e-mail to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac officials lifting the cap on mortgage bonds each could hold from $40-billion to $225-billion, effective immediately. If the mortgage buyers fully exercised their new authority, it would lead to about a $170-billion jump in bond purchases compared with Mr. Trump's instructions. The new rules reverse nearly two decades of bipartisan consensus, lifting limits imposed after the 2008-09 financial crisis that led to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac being placed into government conservatorship. Before this story was published, Mr. Pulte took to X, calling it "fake news." "FHFA simply gave each entity legal flexibility to go beyond their previous caps," Mr. Pulte wrote Friday, adding that despite the lenders' new bond purchasing authority, they would not "exceed $200-billion."