President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Friday, threatening to remove her from office if she does not resign voluntarily. The move comes after members of his administration accused Cook of mortgage fraud tied to the purchase of two properties earlier in the decade.
“I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign,” Trump told reporters. “What she did was bad, so I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign.”
The sharp remarks mark a significant escalation from earlier this week, when Trump first demanded Cook’s resignation on his Truth Social platform. In that post, he wrote: “Cook must resign, now!!!” and linked to a Bloomberg article about a letter from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the allegations.
Cook pushed back swiftly, issuing a statement Wednesday afternoon: “I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet. I do 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 controversy unfolded against the backdrop of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s high-profile Jackson Hole speech, in which Powell signaled that a September rate cut could be on the table. Yet headlines quickly shifted toward the White House’s mounting pressure campaign against Cook.
According to Pulte’s Aug. 15 letter, Cook allegedly “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.” The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump told aides he was considering firing Cook outright. The Financial Times later reported that the Department of Justice had sent Powell a letter calling for Cook’s removal.
The timing of Trump’s threat is notable, as it coincides with broader shifts on the Fed’s Board of Governors. Just last week, the president nominated Stephen Miran, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, to fill the seat vacated by Adriana Kugler, who stepped down on Aug. 8. If Cook were forced out, Trump would gain another appointment to the Fed’s seven-member board, further strengthening his influence over the central bank.
At the same time, Trump has turned up the pressure on Powell himself. With Powell’s term as Fed chair ending in May 2026, Trump has said he has narrowed the field of potential successors to “three or four” candidates. The president has repeatedly attacked Powell’s leadership, urging faster rate cuts and dubbing him “Too Late.” Powell, first appointed chair by Trump in 2017 and later re-nominated by President Biden in 2021, continues to serve both as chair and as a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors. His board term runs until 2028, though it remains unclear if he will step down from that position when his chairmanship ends.
Trump has also criticized the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of its Washington headquarters, calling it a “sort of” fireable offense for Powell. The two men met at the site in late July, where Trump once again pressed Powell to accelerate rate cuts.
The president’s latest remarks underscore his increasingly combative stance toward the central bank. Should Cook resign or be removed, Trump would gain another opportunity to reshape the Fed’s leadership at a moment when monetary policy is under intense political scrutiny.
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