President Donald Trump said Friday that he will fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook if she doesn’t resign.
“What she did was bad. So I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign,” he told reporters.
Trump’s comment came days after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte alleged that Cook had committed mortgage fraud.
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Pulte alleged that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud.”
Trump previously said on Wednesday that Cook “must resign, now!!!”
The Federal Reserve declined to comment.
On Thursday, Pulte told the Fox Business Network that he believed “the president has ample cause to fire Lisa Cook.”
The only reason that a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors can be fired is “for cause,” or some form of wrongdoing.
Cook responded to Trump and Pulte in a statement on Wednesday: “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 added that she intends “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 and Pulte’s attacks on Cook are the latest in a long-running pressure campaign against the central bank and its top officials as Trump seeks lower interest rates.
Cook’s removal from the Fed would open a third seat for a Trump appointee. In the coming months, Trump will nominate a new Fed chair as well as a governor. Both of those officials would hold a permanent vote on the Fed’s 12-member rate-setting committee.
Already seated on the Fed’s board are Trump appointees Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller.
