Fed governor has ‘no intention of being bullied to step down’ by Trump

Banking·Federal ReserveFed governor has ‘no intention of being bullied to step down’ by TrumpBy Christopher RugaberBy The Associated PressBy Christopher RugaberBy The Associated Press Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve member Lisa Cook.AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, FileFederal Reserve governor Lisa Cook late Wednesday said she wouldn’t leave her post after Trump on social media called on her to resign over an accusation from one his officials that she committed mortgage fraud. “I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook said in a statement issued by the Fed

Mortgage rates are often higher on second s or those purchased to rent

Trump ed up Pulte’s accusation by calling on Cook to resign, in the effort by the administration to exert greater control over one of the few remaining independent agencies in Washington

Trump has repeatedly attacked the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, for not cutting its short-term interest rate, and even threatened to fire him

If Cook is forced off the Fed’s governing board, it would vide Trump an opportunity to appoint a loyalist

Trump has said he would only appoint officials who would support cutting rates

Cook also said, “I do intend to take any questions 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 vide the facts.” Pulte, in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, said that on June 18, 2021, Cook purchased a in Ann Arbor and then two weeks later bought a condo in Atlanta

Before joining the Fed, Cook taught at Michigan State University

Pulte also charged that Cook has listed her condo in Atlanta for rent

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to

Just last month, Trump blasted Powell for the ballooning cost of the renovation of two of the Fed’s headquarters buildings, even suggesting that the run-up in costs could constitute a firing offense

He backed off his threats to fire Powell after receiving a tour of the ject

Pulte also suggested that Cook’s alleged actions could constitute a fireable offense

Fed officials are tected by law from being removed by a president, except “for cause,” which is generally seen as some kind of malfeasance or dereliction of duty

Either way, if Trump seeks to fire Cook, it could lead to a court battle over a president’s power to remove Fed governors

Senate Democrats, including New York Sen

Chuck Schumer, expressed support for Cook and slammed Trump’s actions. “Trump is a liar

Lisa Cook—stand tough and don’t let Trump intimidate you,” Schumer wrote in a post on social media platform X

Elizabeth Warren said in a statement that Trump “has been scrambling for a pretext to intimidate or fire Chair Powell and members of the Federal Reserve Board while blaming anyone but himself for how his failed economic policies are hurting Americans.” Trump will be able to replace Chair Jerome Powell in May 2026, when Powell’s term expires

Yet 12 members of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee have a vote on whether to raise or lower interest rates, so even replacing the Chair doesn’t guarantee that Fed policy will shift the way Trump wants

But the more members of the Fed’s governing board that Trump can appoint, the more control he will be able to assert over the Fed, which has long been considered independent from day-to-day

All seven members of the Fed’s governing board are able to vote on rate decisions

The other five voters include the president of the Fed’s New York branch and a rotating group of four of the presidents of the Fed’s other 11 regional branches

Trump appointed two members of the Fed’s board in his first term, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman

Both dissented July 30 from the central bank’s decision to keep its rate unchanged, in favor of a rate cut

Another Fed governor, Adriana Kugler, stepped down unexpectedly Aug. 1, and Trump has nominated one of his economic advisers, Stephen Miran, to fill out the remainder of her term until January

If Trump is able to replace Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board, as well as Kugler, that would give him a majority on the board of governors

If Powell leaves the board when his term as chair ends next May, then Trump will be able to fill a fifth spot

The presidents of the regional Federal Reserve banks are selected by the boards of directors of those banks, but are subject to the apval of the Fed’s board of governors

The terms of all 12 of the regional Fed presidents end next February

He has also repeatedly insulted Powell, who has said that the Fed would to see more evidence of how the economy evolves in response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs before making any moves

Powell has also said the duties threaten to raise inflation and slow growth

Yet mortgage borrowing costs and other interest rates, including many of the ones the government pays, do not always the Fed’s rate decisions

The Trump administration has made similar claims of mortgage fraud against Democrats that Trump has attacked, including California Sen

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