Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said she intends to remain at the central bank, disregarding President Donald Trump’s call for her to resign over mortgage fraud allegations.
In a statement sent by email through a Fed spokesperson, Cook said: “I have no intention of being forced to resign over some of the issues raised in the tweet. As a member of the Federal Reserve, I do take seriously any questions about my financial history, and so I am gathering accurate information to answer any reasonable questions and provide the facts.”
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte recently urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate two mortgage loans of Cook. After Bloomberg News reported the matter on Tuesday night, Trump posted on social media on Wednesday morning, calling for Cook’s resignation.
As Trump continues to pressure the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, his resignation will create another vacancy on the Fed’s board. Trump had criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates months ago, saying it was “too late” and suggesting that Powell should also step down. Trump and Poulter have also harshly criticized the cost of the ongoing headquarters renovation project by Powell and the Fed.
On August 15, Pulte wrote to Bondi and Justice Department official Ed Martin, suggesting that Cook might have committed a criminal offense. The letter accused Cook of “forging bank documents and property records to obtain more favorable loan terms, which, according to the Criminal Code, might constitute mortgage fraud.”
No charges have been filed yet, and it is also unclear whether the FBI will launch an investigation. The Justice Department previously declined to comment on Pulte’s letter.
After Cook’s statement was released, Pulte posted on social media: “Miss Cook, you or your lawyer can write whatever you want. You were arrested based on mortgage documents, not a tweet.”
Pulley told Laura Ingraham of Fox News on Wednesday evening that if Cook doesn’t resign, “I do think the president has reason to fire her.”
The Trump administration also filed mortgage fraud charges against some well-known Democrats, including California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both are long-time political opponents of Trump and have denied any wrongdoing in these cases.
Pulte said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday that mortgage fraud poses a “survival threat” to the Federal Home Loan Banks that his agency regulates.
He said, “We will file a lawsuit.”
However, the Federal Housing Finance Agency rarely lists personal consumption loans separately.
“Based on my experience, they rarely conduct such a strict loan-level document review,” said Ben Klubes, who served as the chief deputy general counsel of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the acting general counsel of the Biden administration. “If this is really some kind of routine random review, it’s very unusual that the result would be three Democratic public officials and that the recommendation information would be disclosed in such detail.”
Elizabeth Warren, the senior Democrat on the Senate committee that oversees the Pulte agency, said the Trump administration “should not use the federal government’s weapons to illegally fire an independent director of the Federal Reserve.”
Warren said in an email statement: “I have always advocated holding Federal Reserve officials accountable. But anyone can see that for months, President Trump has been looking for excuses to intimidate or fire Chair Powell and members of the Federal Reserve Board, while blaming anyone but himself for the damage his failed economic policies have caused to the American people.”
