President Donald Trump has demanded that a Federal Reserve governor resign based on unconfirmed allegations by a MAGA ally who accused her of mortgage fraud.
In his latest attack against the Central Bank, Trump put out a post on Wednesday morning declaring that Lisa Cook “must resign, now!!!” after his director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, referred her to the Justice Department for investigation.
Pulte, who has a history of targeting Trump’s enemies, including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, said on social media that his office had investigated Cook and believed she had falsified bank documents.
He recently made similar claims against New York Attorney General Letitia James, the Democratic prosecutor who successfully pursued Trump over civil fraud relating to his real estate empire.
Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the board, was appointed under the Biden administration in 2022 and her current term extends until 2038.
But the vote to appoint her was so tight that then Vice President Kamala Harris had to break a 50-50 tie in the Senate after Republicans overwhelmingly opposed her.
The push to now unseat her comes as Trump seeks to overhaul the Fed and install governors who are more likely to cut interest rates, which he believes will boost the U.S. economy.
The issue has angered the president for months, fueling his calls for Powell, who has kept rates steady this year in part due to concerns over Trump’s tariffs, to also resign.
Earlier this year, Trump even brandished the draft of a letter, written by Pulte, suggesting he would fire the central bank chair. Powell was never sacked but has come under relentless attacks since.
“Could somebody please inform Jerome “Too Late” Powell that he is hurting the Housing Industry, very badly?” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
“People can’t get a Mortgage because of him. There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut.”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, Cook said she learnt of Pulte’s referral through the media and “I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet.”
“I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts,” she added.
According to Pulte, the Federal Reserve governor took out a mortgage on a house in Michigan, which was represented to be her principal residence, but soon after took out a loan on a condominium in Atlanta that was also described as her principal residence.
He claims that Cook later listed the Atlanta dwelling for rent but didn’t report any rental income on her ethics filings.
The Trump ally, who comes from one of the biggest home development empires in America, has now referred her to the Justice Department for investigation.
The move comes after a similar DOJ investigation was opened in May into allegations that Pulte made that New York attorney general Letitia James committed fraud by lying on loan and bank documents to obtain better mortgage rates.
At the time, James’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, slammed the investigation as an act of “improper political retaliation … publicly instigated and endorsed by President Trump.”
Earlier this year, Pulte also referred Democrat Senator Adam Schiff to the department after accusing him of mortgage fraud. Schiff has denied the allegations.
