Topline
President Donald Trump said Friday he would fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook if she doesn’t resign voluntarily, as Cook is facing allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied.
Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Jerome Powell speaks with Lisa Cook, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, as he chairs a Federal Reserve Board open meeting discussing proposed revisions to the board’s supplementary leverage ratio standards at the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, DC, on June 25, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Trump told reporters, “I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign,” adding what Cook “did was bad,” referring to allegations brought by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte that Cook committed mortgage fraud by claiming two properties as her primary residence.
Cook said in a statement Wednesday she has “no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” referring to Pulte’s tweet in which he brought the initial allegations.
Cook has denied any wrongdoing and said the accusations were “based on a mortgage application from four years ago, before I joined the Federal Reserve.”
Trump said on Truth Social earlier this week Cook “must resign, now!!!”
Tangent
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested Friday in his final appearance at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he could lower interest rates, citing a temporary effect in prices from Trump’s tariffs that might not support a long-term rate hike, though he maintained that tariff impacts are still uncertain. Trump has been feuding with Powell for months over his decision not to lower interest rates sooner and has threatened to fire him before his term is up in May next year.
Key Background
Pulte, appointed by Trump in March, made the allegations against Cook Wednesday when he posted to X a letter he sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi referring Cook for criminal prosecution. The letter accuses Cook of attempting to secure more favorable mortgage loans in 2021 from banks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Atlanta, Georgia, and alleging on her applications that both would be her primary residence. Cook said Wednesday she is “gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts” about the applications. Pulte also tweeted he believes Trump “has cause” to fire Cook, as she and other Fed governors can only be removed for “cause.”
Further Reading
Powell Signals Likely Interest Rate Cut In Jackson Hole Speech—Igniting Stock Rally (Forbes)
Federal Reserve’s Cook Latest Trump Target Of Mortgage Fraud Allegations—She ‘Must Resign Now,’ He Says (Forbes)
Trump Might Greenlight ‘Major Lawsuit’ Against Fed Chair Jerome Powell (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/08/22/trump-threatens-to-fire-federal-reserve-governor-lisa-cook/
