President Donald Trump arrives with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., for a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump has redoubled his call for Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook’s exit, telling reporters Friday that if Cook, a former professor at Michigan State University, doesn’t resign, he will fire her.
The president first called for Cook’s resignation earlier this week, after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte made a criminal referral to the Department of Justice on Wednesday, accusing Cook of falsifying bank documents and property records “to acquire more favorable loan terms,” for properties in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Atlanta, Georgia.
Now, both Trump and Pulte are bolstering their attack on Cook, with Pulte posting documents to social media on Friday accusing Cook of misrepresenting her Atlanta property as her primary residence while listing the same property for rent.
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Alongside Cook, Pulte has made referrals against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who secured judgment against Trump for misrepresenting his assets in financial statements, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who served as the lead prosecutor in Trump’s first impeachment, accusing all three of mortgage fraud. In another post on Friday, Pulte said he would be making referrals against two additional individuals.
Dr. Lisa Cook, the first woman of color to sit on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, speaks at Michigan State University’s undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 5, 2023. Cook highlighted the challenges the graduating class of 2023 have faced, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Feb. 13 mass shooting on campus, but encouraged the graduates to savor moments of joy. (Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
A spokesperson for the Board of Governors had no additional comment to share, referring the Michigan Advance to Cook’s previous remarks on the allegations.
“I learned from the media that FHFA Director William Pulte posted on social media that he was making a criminal referral based on a mortgage application from four years ago, before I joined the Federal Reserve. I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook said in a statement Wednesday evening. “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.”
Trump’s call for Cook’s resignation comes amidst his ongoing fight with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, with the president demanding Powell cut federal interest rates.
Under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, members can only be removed by the president “for cause.”
Cook was nominated to fill an empty seat on the Board of Governors in 2022 by Democratic former President Joe Biden. She was confirmed for an additional, full term in 2023, which will expire on Jan. 31, 2038.
Cook is the first Black Woman to serve on the board, previously serving as a professor of economics and international relations at Michigan State University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Cook has also served as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers under Democratic former President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2012 and as a senior adviser on finance and development in the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of International Affairs from 2000 to 2001.