President Trump on Wednesday called on Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook to resign as the public pressure on the central bank continues to build.
“Cook must resign, now!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, Wednesday morning. He included a link to a Bloomberg report about a letter sent by Federal Housing Finance Agency head Bill Pulte urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Cook over a pair of mortgages.
Pulte wrote in a letter dated Aug. 15 that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.”
The president’s call for Cook to resign comes as public pressure on the Fed continues amid ongoing changes on the Fed’s Board of Governors.
Last week, Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran to the Fed board to fill a seat left empty by Adriana Kugler, who stepped down from the board on Aug. 8. Should Cook also step down, Trump would have the opportunity to nominate another Fed governor.
The search for a replacement for Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term leading the central bank ends in May 2026, also continues in the background. Trump said last week that the field of possible replacements for Powell was “down to 3 or 4″ candidates.”
Trump has repeatedly called on Powell to cut rates more aggressively, coining the nickname “Too Late” for the Fed chair. Trump first appointed Powell to the role in 2017; former President Joe Biden renominated Powell as Fed chair in 2021.
Powell is also a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, and his term expires in 2028. It isn’t clear whether Powell will also vacate that post when his term as Fed chair ends next year.
Reporting from CNBC, however, suggested up to 11 names are under consideration for Powell’s role, including Jefferies chief market strategist David Zervos, who told CNBC on Wednesday that the Fed has “never been independent.”
The mounting discussion around Fed independence and political pressure currently being levied at the central bank comes ahead of the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which is set to feature Powell’s key policy speech of the year on Friday morning.
Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.
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