- President Trump calls for a Fed governor's resignation after a housing official alleged mortgage fraud.
- FHFA director Bill Pulte claims Fed governor Lisa Cook falsified mortgage loan application.
- Appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022, Cook is the first African American woman on Fed board.
President Donald Trump is reportedly considering firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook following allegations made by one of the president’s housing officials that she committed mortgage fraud.
Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted a letter on X addressed to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday in which he alleges that in 2021 Cook applied for two mortgage loans, one in Atlanta and one in Michigan, and indicated in each application that the properties would be her “primary residence.”
The loan applications were submitted two weeks apart in June and July of that year. Pulte’s social media post includes images of what appear to be Cook’s signature, but no other evidence backing his accusation, per a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Trump reacted to Pulte’s letter with his own social media post Wednesday morning, writing “Cook must resign, now!!!” on Truth Social.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Trump told aides he is considering firing Cook.
In an interview conducted hours after posting the letter, Pulte said Cook would need to resign or face termination.
“To be honest, I think she needs to resign quickly,” Pulte said of Cook on CNBC’s “Money Movers.”
“I think she will have to resign, or I think she will be fired.”
Cook, an economist and former professor at Michigan State University, was appointed to her governor’s position in 2022 by President Joe Biden. She is the first African American woman to be appointed to the Fed board. Cook had previously served on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Pulte, who has aggressively backed Trump’s frequent attacks on the Fed and its chairman, Jerome Powell, insisted in his interview with CNBC that his actions were apolitical.
“There’s no funny business here,” Pulte said. “This is straightforward stuff, and if you commit mortgage fraud, especially in black and white, you will be prosecuted.”
What is Trump’s beef with the Fed?
During his second term, Trump has leveled consistent criticism at the Fed and more specifically at Powell, including threats to fire or remove the chairman, for not moving fast enough to lower interest rates, which the president has argued are three points higher than they should be.
Ironically, perhaps, Trump provided the gateway to Powell’s leadership position at the Fed, thanks to a 2017 presidential appointment that flew through the Senate Banking Committee and was confirmed by the full Senate in early 2018.
Powell, a Republican and former private equity executive, joined the Federal Reserve in 2012 and ascended to the chairmanship in 2018 via Trump’s appointment. Biden renewed Powell’s term in 2022, which runs through May 2026.
Powell and the Fed’s governors are in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this week participating in the U.S. central bank’s annual meeting. Powell is scheduled to deliver a speech on Friday at the conclusion of the gathering.