Trump calls on Fed governor Lisa Cook to resign over mortgage fraud claim

President Trump urged one of the Federal Reserve's governors, Lisa Cook, to resign on Wednesday after a top housing official accused her of potential mortgage fraud.

"Cook must resign, now!!!" Mr. Trump said on Truth Social, in his latest attack on the central bank that has resisted his pressure to lower interest rates.

William Pulte, director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that accuses Ms. Cook of submitting mortgage documents in 2021 that list both a Michigan residence and a Georgia condominium as primary residences, even though the Atlanta domicile was then listed for rent.

Mr. Pulte, a Fed critic and close ally to Mr. Trump, asked Ms. Bondi to investigate Ms. Cook. He alleges the Fed governor "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud."

Ms. Cook said she learned through social media that he'd made a criminal referral against her related to a mortgage application from four years ago, or before she joined the Fed.

"I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet," she said. "I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”

Mr. Trump's call for Ms. Cook's ouster coincides with his desire to reshape the Fed to his liking. He's relentlessly attacked Fed Chair Jerome Powell for refusing to lower interest rates.

Fed members have been reluctant to slash rates because they fear Mr. Trump's tariff policies will increase prices.

Ms. Cook is the first Black woman to sit on the Fed's Board of Governors. President Joe Biden nominated her to the board in 2022.

Her potential ouster would give Mr. Trump more room to shape the board as he enacts his economic agenda.

The Senate is considering Stephen Miran, head of the Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a board vacancy created by the resignation of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee.

If Ms. Cook were to resign, it would leave Fed Governor Michael Barr and Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson as the only Democratic appointees on the seven-person board.

Mr. Trump is going after Ms. Cook as Fed policymakers gather in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for an annual symposium.

Mr. Powell will deliver a speech on Friday. Economists and policymakers will be listening for clues about the Fed's thinking ahead of a September meeting in which the Fed may decrease interest rates by at least 25 basis points, or 0.25%, due to a slowdown in hiring.