President Donald Trump is calling for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to step down.
The Trump administration reported Cook to the Department of Justice for suspected mortgage fraud. The allegations of mortgage fraud were raised by Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
“Cook must resign, now!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, sharing a media report about Pulte’s claims.
In a letter dated August 15, posted on social media, Pulte alleged that Cook falsified documents by designating both a Michigan condo and a Georgia property as her primary residence to secure favorable loan terms in June 2021.
Pulte claimed the Georgia home was later listed as a rental in 2022, and did not report rental income in her ethics filings at the time. Cook’s 2024 financial disclosure, however, reported rental income from the Ann Arbor property and listed three mortgages from 2021 with interest rates between 2.5% and 3.25%.
“She needs to explain herself, but it’s all there in black and white,” Pulte told CNBC in a phone interview, insisting his call for Cook’s resignation was apolitical. “There can be no mortgage fraud. This came across our desk, and it’s my duty to report it. It wouldn’t matter if she were a Republican or a Democrat. It is what it is.”
Neither Cook nor the Federal Reserve responded to requests for comment. The Justice Department also declined to comment.
Appointed by then-President Joe Biden in 2022, Cook became the first Black woman on the Fed’s Board of Governors after a 50-50 Senate vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaker. A specialist in international economics and racial disparities in labor markets, Cook previously taught at Michigan State University and has advocated for diversity in economics.
Cook’s potential resignation would create a second vacancy on the seven-member Fed board, following Governor Adriana Kugler’s unexpected departure this month.
Trump, who expressed being “very happy” about Kugler’s exit, has nominated Stephen Miran, head of the Council of Economic Advisers, to fill her seat, pending Senate confirmation. With two existing Trump-appointed governors, Christopher J. Waller and Michelle W. Bowman, additional vacancies could give Trump’s appointees a majority.
Analyst Jaret Seiberg of TD Cowen Washington Research Group noted, per CNN, “For Cook, resigning will not end the legal probe. It is why we see no incentive for her to react to Pulte by departing before the next (Fed) meeting.”