President Donald Trump said Friday that he would fire Gov. Lisa Cook if she does not resign from her position.
“What she did is bad,” the president told reporters. I asked about Cook. I asked about Cook.
“So if she doesn’t resign, I’ll fire her,” he said during a surprise visit to People’s House, a White House museum.
If Trump succeeds in removing the cook “for a cause,” he will have the opportunity to restructure the central bank’s steering committee.
US President Donald Trump will visit the White House Experience Museum in Washington, DC, USA on August 22, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Two of the current seven governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, are Trump’s appointees. Both opposed the Fed’s latest decision to stabilize interest rates.
Another seat was opened earlier this summer, with Adriana Kugler announced that she was resigning.
If Trump can remove the cook, he will appoint her successor – potentially ensuring that the majority of the board shares his views on monetary policy. Board members serve a 14-year term.
This week, Federal Housing and Finance Director Bill Prute publicly accused the chef of mortgage fraud in connection with claims that they simultaneously took two different properties as major residences.
He sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice and announced he would investigate Cook on Thursday.
Pulte is a critic of the voices of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who actively supported Trump’s request for the central bank to cut interest rates, and has continued to attack Cook on social media since revealing his allegations.
Trump previously sought Cook resign immediately in light of the allegations. Ed Martin, a Justice Department lawyer who is considered presidential loyalty, urged Powell to quickly remove Cook, despite the central bank chief not being able to do so under the law.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, wrote on the X-Post Friday that Trump was targeting Cook because he was “trying to find a scapegoat because he couldn’t cut American costs.”
Cook consistently voted along Powell. She sided with the majority to avoid changing prices, following the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee last month.
“I am not intending to resign from my position as some questions were raised in the tweet,” Cook said Wednesday.
“We learned from the media that FHFA Director William Plute was making criminal referrals on social media based on a mortgage application four years ago before joining the Federal Reserve,” Cook said in a statement.
“As a member of the Federal Reserve, I’m going to seriously ask questions about my financial history, so I’m gathering accurate information, answering legitimate questions and providing facts,” she said.
Trump’s comments came Friday morning when Powell informed him that the economic situation “justifies” interest rate cuts.
The economy and labor market remain resilient, but negative risks are rising and growth is declining. And Trump’s tariffs are once again raising inflation concerns, Powell said at the Fed’s annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
