Trump says he is firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook after alleging mortgage fraud

President Donald Trump has said he is firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, following unsubstantiated allegations of mortgage fraud.

In a letter to Cook that the White House shared on social media Monday night, Trump said, “There is sufficient reason to believe you may have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements.”

The letter referred to a criminal referral dated August 15 from William Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Pulte claimed Cook declared a property in Michigan as her primary residence for the next year and then two weeks later, declared a property in Georgia as her primary residence for the next year.

“It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second. It is impossible that you intended to honor both,” Trump told Cook, who former President Joe Biden nominated for the Fed board in 2022.

Trump added: “At a minimum, the conduct at issue exhibits the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”

When announcing the criminal referral last week, Pulte wrote on X, “When someone commits mortgage fraud, they undermine the faith and integrity of our System. It does not matter who you are – no one is above the law.”

Trump had raged at Cook last week, demanding she “must resign, now!!!” in a Truth Social post about the mortgage fraud allegations.

“I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook said in a statement released by the Fed on August 20.

She added,“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.”

The removal of Cook, which Trump said was “effective immediately,” comes amid the president’s public disapproval of Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Trump has railed against Powell for keeping interest rates the same during his second term. The Fed cut interest rates three times in late 2024 as inflation cooled in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last Friday, Powell signaled the Fed may cut interest rates in the coming months.

This is a developing story…