WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump called on Wednesday (Aug 20) for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to step down, expanding pressure on the central bank after recent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates sooner.
“Cook must resign, now!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, while sharing a Bloomberg news report on how the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) director has called for greater scrutiny of Cook over a pair of mortgages.
FHFA director Bill Pulte – a staunch ally of Trump’s – had reportedly written a letter to the US Attorney General calling for an investigation of Cook while suggesting that she might have committed a criminal offence.
It was not immediately clear if such a probe will take place.
The Trump administration has pursued allegations of mortgage fraud against high-profile Democrats who are seen as political adversaries of the president.
The US leader’s targeting of Cook, who sits on the central bank’s rate-setting committee, comes after his repeated broadsides against Powell while the Fed kept the benchmark lending rate unchanged this year.
Cook took office as a Fed governor in May 2022 and was reappointed to the board in September 2023. She was sworn in later that same month for a term ending in 2038.
Cook has previously served on the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Barack Obama.
In recent months, Trump has called Powell a “numbskull” and “moron” as the central bank held rates steady to monitor the effects of US tariffs on inflation.
Trump had also previously suggested that what he said is an overly costly renovation of the Fed’s headquarters could be a reason to oust Powell, before backing off the threat.
Powell’s term as Fed chair ends in May 2026.