The White House and the Federal Reserve found themselves at the center of a political and legal storm on August 20, 2025, as President Donald Trump and his housing regulator, Bill Pulte, publicly demanded the resignation—or removal—of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud. The situation, which unfolded rapidly over the course of a single day, has thrust the central bank’s independence into the spotlight and raised fresh questions about the intersection of politics, law, and monetary policy in the United States.
It all began when Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and a close Trump ally, took to CNBC’s “Money Movers” to declare, “To be honest, I think she needs to resign quickly. I think she will have to resign, or I think she will be fired.” His comments, delivered with characteristic bluntness, were only the latest escalation in a series of pointed criticisms by Pulte and the Trump administration against the Federal Reserve and its leadership. But this time, the focus was not on interest rates or monetary policy, but on alleged personal misconduct by one of the Fed’s most prominent members.
Pulte’s allegations center on claims that Lisa Cook, who was appointed to the Fed’s board by President Joe Biden in 2022 and is the first Black woman to serve in that capacity, declared two different properties as her primary residence when taking out mortgages—one in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and another in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Pulte, Cook entered into a 15-year mortgage on the Ann Arbor property in June 2021, stating her intention to use it as her principal residence. Just a month later, in July 2021, she purchased the Atlanta property with a 30-year mortgage, again committing to use it as her primary residence.
“You cannot do that in America,” Pulte stated on CNBC, emphasizing the seriousness of the claim. He further accused Cook of “falsifying bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud.” In a letter dated August 15, 2025, addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Pulte described his communication as a “criminal referral” and requested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) open a criminal investigation into Cook’s actions. “If you commit mortgage fraud, especially in black and white, you will be prosecuted,” he insisted, maintaining that his actions were entirely apolitical. “There’s no funny business here. This is straightforward stuff.”
The allegations against Cook are not occurring in a vacuum. As reported by The Guardian and CNBC, Pulte has made similar claims against other high-profile Democratic figures, including Senator Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both have denied the allegations and accused the administration of weaponizing the justice system for political gain. James dismissed the accusations as “baseless,” while Schiff called them a clear example of the administration’s efforts to intimidate political opponents.
President Trump wasted no time weighing in. On his social media platform, Truth Social, he posted in all caps: “Lisa Cook must resign, now!!!” The post, which quickly went viral, marked yet another extraordinary instance of a sitting president publicly pressuring the central bank—an institution traditionally insulated from political interference. Trump’s demand echoed his previous calls for the Fed to cut interest rates and for Chair Jerome Powell to step down, further eroding the norms that have governed the relationship between the White House and the Federal Reserve for decades.
But as Pulte’s media blitz continued, confusion swirled over who, if anyone, actually has the authority to remove a sitting Fed governor. “Jay Powell, he has a chance to do the right thing by the law. I mean, this is just, you know, this is common sense, what he needs to do here,” Pulte said on CNBC, appearing to suggest that the Fed chair could take action. However, as CNBC and The Guardian pointed out, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 is clear: only the president can remove a board member, and only for “cause,” a legal standard generally interpreted to mean serious misconduct. The Supreme Court has recently suggested that the president cannot remove Fed governors over mere policy disagreements, further complicating the picture.
Neither Cook nor the Federal Reserve responded to multiple requests for comment from CNBC, The Guardian, and other outlets. The Justice Department and FHFA also declined to comment as of August 20, 2025. The silence from official channels has only fueled speculation and intensified the pressure on Cook, who has served as a permanent voting member of the Fed’s rate-setting committee since her appointment. Prior to joining the Fed, Cook was a professor of economics at Michigan State University, a graduate of Spelman College and Oxford University, and a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama. Her reputation as a trailblazer in the economics field has made her a frequent target for critics of the Biden administration’s economic policies.
Pulte’s campaign against Cook unfolded not just on television, but across social media, where he posted, “Lisa Cooked is cooked,” and accused Powell of complicity if he failed to investigate. “I hear Jay Powell is scrambling this morning. He can scramble all he wants, but he might as well be scrambling eggs, because the party at the Fed is OVER!” Pulte wrote, in a post that blended bravado with a sense of finality. In another post, he declared, “Powell must look into it or he is complicit.”
For Trump and his allies, the allegations against Cook are also a lever in their ongoing campaign to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates. Pulte has repeatedly called on Powell to resign or cut rates, and attended Trump’s recent tour of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation. In his CNBC interview, Pulte insisted that his criticism of the Fed’s monetary policy was a “separate matter,” but then added that “Jay Powell has a chance to do the right thing by the law” with regard to Governor Cook. “We’ll see” if Powell knew about Cook’s mortgages, he said, leaving the door open to further speculation.
Cook’s defenders point out that the allegations remain unproven and that the timing and tone of the attacks suggest a political motive. As The Guardian noted, the accusations come as the Trump administration has stepped up its efforts to discredit Democratic appointees and expand its influence over the central bank. Critics warn that such tactics risk undermining the Fed’s credibility and its ability to conduct monetary policy free from political interference—an issue with profound implications for the U.S. economy and global financial markets.
As of Wednesday evening, no charges had been filed against Cook, and the DOJ had not confirmed whether it would open an investigation. The story remains fluid, with both the White House and the central bank facing mounting scrutiny. For now, the only certainty is that the battle over Lisa Cook’s future at the Fed is far from over—and that the stakes for American economic governance could hardly be higher.
