President Trump called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign following allegations from a Trump ally that Cook made false statements on mortgage applications.
The move comes as the president is in the midst of a high-pressure campaign to get the central bank to lower interest rates.
Cook, who was appointed to the Fed board by then-President Joe Biden in 2022, voted with a majority of her colleagues to hold interest rates steady last month.
Last week, Bill Pulte, who oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, calling for an investigation of Cook over a pair of mortgage applications she filed in 2021.
The letter, which Pulte posted on social media Wednesday, says Cook sought mortgages on a house in Michigan and a condo in Georgia two weeks apart. The paperwork said each property would be used as Cook's primary residence, though the Georgia condo was listed as a rental two months later. Lenders often give more favorable terms for loans on a borrower's primary home.
"How can this woman be in charge of interest rates if she is allegedly lying to help her own interest rates?" Pulte asked in a social media post.
Cook said she's gathering information so she can provide the facts about her mortgage applications.
"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. "I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve."
Pulte has raised similar claims against Trump antagonists Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
"Cook must resign, now!!!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday.
A previous Fed governor resigned
While the Fed is designed to operate independently of the White House in setting interest rates, Trump has been outspoken in insisting that borrowing costs should be lower. He has repeated attacked Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, dubbing him "Too Late," and has also criticized the central bank for cost overruns in its headquarters renovation.
After cutting interest rates by a full percentage point last year, the Fed has been on hold since December. Inflation remains higher than the Fed's target of 2%, and some policymakers are worried that the president's tariffs could put more upward pressure on prices.
Two Trump appointees on the Fed's rate-setting committee dissented from last month's vote, saying they were ready to resume cutting interest rates. Investors are already betting the Fed will cut borrowing costs by a quarter percentage point at its next meeting in September after the labor market slowed significantly in recent months.
Trump has called for much lower interest rates. He got an early opportunity to appoint another Fed governor with the surprise resignation this month of Adriana Kugler. The president has tapped White House economic adviser Stephen Miran to fill Kugler's seat on a short-term basis.
Cook's term expires in January 2038. If she was to step down now, that would create another opening for Trump to appoint a like-minded governor to the Fed's seven-member board.
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