United States President Donald Trump has intensified his effort to gain influence over the central bank by calling for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s resignation.
The allegations against Cook, made by US Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, claim that Cook designated a condo in Atlanta as her primary residence after taking a loan on her home in Michigan, which she also declared as a primary residence.
Pulte asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate, and Trump quickly amplified the allegation.
According to Pulte, the loans date back to mid-2021, before Cook was appointed to the Fed by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate the following year.
Cook’s federally filed financial disclosure documents show three mortgages taken out in 2021, including a 15-year 2.5% loan on an investment property and two loans for personal residences, including a 30-year 3.25% mortgage and a 15-year 2.875% mortgage.
The weekly average rate for 30-year loans during 2021 ranged between 2.9% and 3.3%, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data.
Cook is one of three Biden appointees to the Fed whose term extends beyond Trump’s time in office, complicating the president’s efforts to get more control by appointing a majority of its seven-member board.
Currently, two of the Fed’s remaining six board members were appointed by Trump: Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman.
Trump has repeatedly blasted Fed Chair Jerome Powell over benchmark rates that he wants sharply reduced, calling for his resignation while acknowledging that the Fed’s unique status in US governance prevents him from firing Fed board members over monetary policy disputes.
“Cook must resign, now!!!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, his latest remarks aimed at reshaping the makeup of the US central bank, a body designed to set benchmark interest rates independent of White House influence.
Trump has told aides he is considering attempting to fire Cook, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited a senior White House official and another person familiar with the matter.
If Trump succeeds in appointing a majority of the Fed’s board members, it could potentially lead to a shift in the central bank’s monetary policy.
Trump has nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the remainder of former Governor Adriana Kugler’s term, which ends in January. Until Powell’s departure, Trump has only one other seat to fill, vacated recently by Kugler’s surprise resignation.
Powell could continue serving as a governor until 2028, near the end of Trump’s term, should he buck convention and continue sitting on the board under a new chair.