President Donald Trump called for a top official at the Federal Reserve to step down after she was accused by federal officials of mortgage fraud.
Trump said Wednesday that Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, should step down after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte called for the Justice Department to investigate her over alleged mortgage fraud.
“Cook must resign, now!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
In an August 15 letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Pulte said that Cook falsely claimed primary residency at the same time for two homes she owned in Michigan and Georgia in order to get better interest rates.
Pulte wrote in his letter that Cook “has falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute. This has included falsifying residence statuses for an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based residence and an Atlanta, Georgia-based property in order to potentially secure lower interest rates and more favorable loan terms.”
In follow-up posts on X, Pulte targeted Cook over the allegations.
“How can this woman be in charge of interest rates if she is allegedly lying to help her own interest rates?” he wrote, adding in another, “Do not declare two principal residences in President Trump’s America. Mortgage fraud is a serious crime and must be prosecuted as such.”
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) responded to the criminal referral by demanding that an independent inspector general be established to investigate the Fed.
“The lack of accountability at the Federal Reserve under Chair Powell is out of control!” Scott posted on X. “This is exactly why we need to pass my bill to establish an independent inspector general at the Fed ASAP.”
When reached for comment by The Daily Wire, a media relations assistant for the Federal Reserve said that “we don’t have anything to share at the moment, but will be back in touch asap.”
Cook was appointed to the board of governors by President Joe Biden and is slated to stay on the board until 2038. She previously worked on the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama and at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Trump has repeatedly battled with the Fed over interest rates, demanding that Chair Jerome Powell lower rates.
“Could somebody please inform Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell that he is hurting the Housing Industry, very badly? People can’t get a Mortgage because of him,” he posted on Truth Social on Tuesday. “There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut.”