US President Trump sacks Fed governor Lisa Cook over mortgage documents allegations

President Donald Trump moved to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her post at the US central bank in the wake of allegations that she falsified documents on mortgage applications.“The American people must be able to have full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve,” Trump said in a letter he posted to Truth Social. “In light of your deceitful and possibly criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot and I do not have such confidence in your integrity.”

The announcement comes after the US Department of Justice indicated it planned to investigate Cook, following a criminal referral from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte alleging that she may have committed mortgage fraud. That investigation marked the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration both to increase legal scrutiny of Democratic figures and put pressure on the central bank.
Cook said August 20, after Pulte initially called on US Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate, that she had “no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet.” She added that she did “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.”The Bloomberg Dollar Index, US Treasury yields and S&P 500 futures all fell on the news.