President Donald Trump is escalating his crusade against the Federal Reserve’s independence by demanding the resignation of Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the central bank’s board of governors, citing unsubstantiated allegations of mortgage fraud.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said Cook, a former Michigan State University professor who has served on the board since 2022, “must resign, now!!!” and shared a Bloomberg News article about calls for the Department of Justice to investigate Cook’s mortgage application history by Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Administration and of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Pulte, a 37-year-old board whose grandfather founded a large residential home construction firm and who gained prominence on social media by giving away free money to people on Twitter, sent a letter last week to Attorney General Pam Bondi and DOJ official Ed Martin alleging that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.”
He alleges that Cook improperly listed an Ann Arbor, Michigan property as a primary residence before also purchasing another property in Georgia.
His letter to Bondi states that Cook “appears to have acquired mortgages that do not meet certain lending requirements and could have received favorable loan terms under fraudulent circumstances” and suggested that she be investigated for violating four separate criminal statutes.
Separately on social media, Pulte said the allegations, which have not resulted in any charges as of yet, give Trump “cause to fire” the Democratic appointee.
Since being sworn into office, Pulte has used his position to dig into mortgage applications from prominent Democrats and has made similar allegations against New York State Attorney General Letitia James and California Senator Adam Schiff.
But he denied any improper political motivations during an interview on CNBC and claimed he had “received a tip” about the matter instead of targeting Cook on his own.
“We refer people every day criminally for mortgage fraud, and no one is above the law. And in this case, it happens to be a fed governor. And I have an obligation to do something about it,” he said.
“You know, the Fed has written all about the economic harm of mortgage fraud, in particular occupancy fraud. And here she is allegedly committing mortgage fraud. So I think it’s a big issue. I don’t think it’s going away. I think she will have to resign or I think she will be fired.”
Although he has not publicized any similar allegations against any Republicans, he claimed that his agency would “look at any allegation of mortgage fraud” and said party affiliation was irrelevant to him.
“We do not care whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat. We do not care whether you’re wealthy. We don’t care whether you’re a prosecutor. We don’t care whether you’re a Fed governor. If you commit mortgage fraud and you present an existential threat to the federal home loan banks … we are going to prosecute it,” he said.
Pulte’s move to accuse Cook of mortgage fraud expands his — and the president’s — effort to hound members of the Federal Reserve’s board in retaliation for not acting to artificially juice the economy by lowering interest rates.
Trump has made no secret of his distaste for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom he nominated to lead the Federal Reserve in 2017, primarily because of Powell’s refusal to lower interest rates, particularly in light of Trump’s decision to levy tariffs.
Powell has said that the central bank needs time to see what effects tariffswill have on inflation and employment before making a determination on interest rates. This has prompted Trump to call Powell a “stupid person” and refer to him by the nickname “Too Late.”
The Supreme Court recently signaled that Trump can’t fire Fed board members simply because the president disagrees with him on interest rates. But legally he could do so “for cause,” such as misconduct or dereliction of duty.
