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President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte accused her of mortgage fraud, the latest instance of the Trump administration levying similar claims on high-profile Democrats and Trump opponents.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, citing a report on Pulte’s allegations, that “Cook must resign, now!!!”
Pulte wrote a letter earlier this month requesting Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Cook, alleging Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.”
In his letter, Pulte claims Cook—whose term expires in 2038—appeared to acquire mortgages that “do not meet certain lending requirements” and she “could have received favorable loan terms under fraudulent circumstances.”
Pulte’s referral cites a $203,000, 15-year mortgage on an Ann Arbor, Michigan, property that Cook took in June 2021 and a separate $540,000, 30-year mortgage for a Georgia property she took 14 days later, as Pulte alleged Cook falsified her residence status by listing both properties as her primary residence.
Pulte also claimed Cook misrepresented her residence status by listing the Georgia property for rent in 2022, even as Cook’s financial disclosures that year and in 2023 did not include rental income tied to the address.
Neither the Federal Reserve nor Cook immediately responded to requests for comment from Forbes.
Bondi reportedly appointed conservative activist Ed Martin as “special attorney” to investigate mortgage fraud allegations against Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James earlier this month. Trump previously called for Schiff and James to be prosecuted on mortgage fraud claims before Pulte referred possible criminal charges to Bondi in May and April, respectively. No charges yet have been filed against Schiff or James. Both Schiff and James have denied the claims, as Schiff argued in July that Trump’s allegations are “the kind of stuff you see tinpot dictators do” and are “designed to intimidate his political opponents and somehow try to silence them.” James headed a successful civil fraud case against Trump, while Schiff chaired the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and served as the lead House manager during Trump’s impeachment trial in 2020.
Cook, a former professor of economics at Michigan State University, was nominated by President Joe Biden to the Federal Reserve’s board in 2022, becoming the central bank’s first Black woman to serve as a governor. The Trump administration’s claims against her follow criticism by Trump and other officials in recent months over the Fed’s cautious monetary policy. The Fed voted in July to hold interest rates between 4.25% and 4.5%, a range maintained since December, as Trump has suggested rates should be significantly lower. Trump has repeatedly called for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to resign or lower rates, and suggested he would allow a “major lawsuit” against Powell over the agency’s alleged over-budget remodeling of its Washington, D.C., headquarters. It’s not immediately clear what lawsuit Trump, who accused Powell of being “grossly incompetent,” is referring to. Powell has denied the claims.