US President Donald Trump has said a top official at the Federal Reserve “must resign, now!!!” over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud, as he continues to seek more influence over the US central bank.
The housing finance regulator, Bill Pulte, who is also a Trump ally, has accused Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of falsifying documents and property records in a bid to get more favourable loan terms.
Trump has expressed anger at the Fed and publicly pondered firing its chairman, Jerome Powell, as he pushes it to lower interest rates.
He has also accused other officials of mortgage fraud, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, who won a civil fraud case against him last year.
In a letter addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi – and posted on X – Pulte alleged that Cook falsified documents for properties in Michigan and Georgia saying they her primary residence, potentially amounting to criminal mortgage fraud.
His post included what appears to be Cook’s signature, but otherwise provided no evidence to support his claims.
Pulte called the letter a “criminal referral” and urged the justice department to investigate.
While no investigation has yet been announced, Trump swiftly took to his Truth Social social media platform to urge Cook to resign.
Cook, who was appointed by Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, in 2022, has yet to publicly address the allegations. The Federal Reserve’s seven governors decide the bank’s monetary policy, lowering and raising a benchmark interest rate and using other measures to address inflation and unemployment.
The justice department and Fed both declined to comment on the allegations or Trump’s comment.
Pulte, who was appointed by Trump in March, has been a vocal critic of Powell’s and has repeatedly echoed Trump’s call for the Fed to lower interest rates.
Trump frequently refers to Powell as being “too late”, saying interest rates should have already been lowered this year.
Alongside calling for Cook to resign, Trump is seeking to influence the Fed through other avenues, including frequently discussing possible nominees for the chairmanship once Powell’s term ends next year.
Earlier this month, another Fed Governor, Adriana Kugler, resigned, paving the way for Trump to nominate economic adviser Stephen Miran to the board. Miran must still be confirmed by the Senate. If Cook resigned, Trump would have another opening to fill.
He has also attacked Powell over the cost of building renovations at the Fed’s headquarters in Washington DC, at times suggesting that cost overruns and potential mismanagement of the project are “sort of” a fireable offence.
Powell is expected to address an economics summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, where he could give clues about the Fed’s plans for interest rates in the near-future. He said earlier this year that the central bank had decided against cutting them after Trump announced his ambitious tariff plans, to see how the new taxes affected businesses and consumers.
The next Fed meeting will take place in mid-September, when many economists expect it to cut rates.
By BBC News
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