President Trump calls for Fed governor to resign after accusation of mortgage fraud
WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump called for the resignation of a Biden-appointed Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, following accusations from his administration that she engaged in mortgage fraud.
Trump's new focus on Cook, who former President Joe Biden nominated to the board in 2022, escalates the president's attacks on the independent Federal Reserve, which is governed by a seven-member board to set monetary policy.
"Cook must resign, now!!!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on the morning of Aug. 20, shortly after Bill Pulte, director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, publicized a letter referring the Fed governor for criminal proseccution to the Justice Department.
More: Trump tussles with Powell during Federal Reserve visit but backs off firing threat
Pulte, in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, accused Cook of falsifying bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms. He said this included falsifying residence statuses in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Atlanta to potentially secure lower interest rates.
Cook did not immediately respond to a USA TODAY request for comment on the allegations.
Cook, a former economics and international relations professor at Michigan State University, is the first Black woman to ever sit on the Fed's board. Cook previously served as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in former President Barack Obama's White House.
For months, Trump has railed against Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell over the Fed's unwillingness to lower interest rates as Trump has demanded, calling the chairman a "numbskull,' 'stupid person' and 'too late.' Powell has cited inflationary concerns from Trump's robust tariff regime in keeping interest rates steady.
More: Trump considering lawsuit against Fed as he bashes Chair Jerome Powell
Despite publicly weighing the idea of firing Powell, Trump has instead said he will wait to replace him when the chairman's term ends in 2026. Experts say the president can only remove a Fed chair for cause.
Trump has also discussed possible criminal charges against Powell ‒ and perhaps suing Powell ‒ over the ballooning budget in a $2.5 billion renovation of the agency's Washington, DC headquarters.
The Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rates, is a 12-member panel composed of the seven governors on the Fed board and five Reserve Bank presidents. Two Republican members of the FOMC Committee in July voted to lower interest rates, marking the first time since 1993 that two governors have dissented from a Fed decision.
To fill an earlier vacancy on the Fed's board of governors, Trump on Aug. 7 nominated Stephen Miran, who chairs the White House's Council of Economic Advisers. If confirmed by the Sebate, Miran would replace Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who resigned on Aug. 1 before her term was set to expire.
Contributing: Bailey Schulz of USA TODAY
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
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