The resignation calls for an intensive approach by Trump to bring influence over the central bank.
US President Donald Trump called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to step down and strengthened his efforts to gain influence on the central bank based on allegations made by one of his allies about the mortgages held by Cook in Michigan and Georgia.
Bill Prute, director of the US Federal Housing and Finance Agency, claimed in a post on Wednesday in X that Cook designated the Atlanta condo as his primary residence after receiving loans from his home in Michigan.
A loan in a major residence can carry easier terms than a second home or an investment property. Pulte said the loan was dated until mid-2021, when Cook was appointed to the Fed by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the senator the following year. She was originally from Georgia and was then a professor of economics at Michigan State University.
Pulte asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate, and Trump quickly amplified the allegations. The Justice Department took the issue very seriously, department officials told Reuters.
“We’re also looking into some of the property she has in Massachusetts to see if there’s anything there. But I don’t have anything yet,” Pulte said in an interview with CNBC.
Cood’s federal financial disclosure documents show that three mortgages were photographed in 2021. This includes two loans for private homes, including a 15-year 2.5% loan to investment property and a 30-year 3.25% mortgage and a 15-year 2.875% mortgage. According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the average weekly rate for loans for 30 years in 2021 ranged from 2.9% to 3.3%. Cook began with the Fed in 2022 and was reappointed in 2023 for a 14-year term.
A spokesman for the Fed and Cook did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Cook must resign, now!!!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform. His latest statement aimed to restructure the US Central Bank’s composition, designed to set benchmark interest rates independent of the White House influence.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump told his aides he was considering firing Cook.
White House is in conflict with the central bank
Cook is one of three Biden appointees from the Fed whose term has been extended beyond Trump’s inauguration hours, complicating the president’s efforts to gain more control by appointing most of his seven-member board.
Currently, two of the Fed’s remaining six board members have been appointed to Trump. Vice-chairman for Governor Christopher Waller and overseer Michelle Bowman.
Trump repeatedly blows up Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on the benchmark rate he wants to significantly reduce, acknowledging that the Fed’s unique position in US governance is preventing Fed’s board members from firing in financial policy disputes.
Trump could name his new chair when Powell’s term ends in May, but he could argue that the board’s majority would take more time. Powell was able to continue serving as governor until 2028, near the end of Trump’s term, allowing him to absorb the customs and continue to sit on the board under a new chair.
Until Powell’s departure, at this point Trump only has one seat to fill the other recently vacant seat due to the shocking resignation of former Gov. Adriana Coogler. Earlier this month, Trump nominated Stephen Milan, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council, for the remainder of his term.
