Trump vs Federal Reserve: US President 'fires' Fed governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud claims
Published on: Aug. 26, 2025, 5:25 p.m. | Source: The Economic Times
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (August 25) said he was firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over alleged improprieties in obtaining mortgage loans, an unprecedented step that could test the boundaries of presidential power over the independent monetary policy body should it be challenged in court. Trump said in a letter to Cook, the first African-American woman to serve as head of the Federal Reserve's governing body, that he had “sufficient cause to remove you from your position” because in 2021, Cook indicated on documents for separate mortgage loans on properties in Michigan and Georgia that both were her primary residence, where she intended to live. Trump also accused Cook of having "deceitful and criminal conduct in a financial matter" and said he did not have confidence in her "integrity" in the letter. "At a minimum, the conduct at issue exhibits the sort of negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator," he said. Cook, appointed to the Fed board in 2022 by former U.S. President Joe Biden, has yet to provide a detailed account of the transactions since questions about them were raised last week by U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency director William Pulte, who referred the matter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi for investigation.
