Lisa Cook

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On August 15, 2025, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Bill Pulte accused Cook of mortgage fraud, saying she had claimed two different homes as her main residence in 2021 to get better loan terms. Pulte said he submitted a criminal referral to the Department of Justice. [37] The accusations involved multiple properties: one located in Michigan and the other in Georgia (both of which were allegedly claimed as primary residences), and a third property in Massachusetts which was claimed as a second home. [38]

Pulte had already made similar accusations against two other political adversaries of President Donald Trump, namely New York attorney general Letitia James and Senator Adam Schiff. [29] [39] During a CNBC interview on September 4, 2025, Pulte was questioned by journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin about perceptions of "political weaponization". Sorkin stated that "If, for example, the tip came from inside the administration, or came from even inside your agency, with somebody who works for you ... then that creates the perception issue". [40] Pulte refused to clarify if the tip about alleged mortgage fraud had come from within the government or from the general public. Pulte also refused to comment when asked if his agency would be reviewing the records of Republican Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, who has declared three separate Texas homes as primary residences in mortgage documents, according to reporting by The New York Times. [40] [41] A week later, 24 members of the House Democratic Caucus requested that the FHFA inspector general review the process by which Pulte received the tip and made the allegations. [42]

On August 20, Trump posted on Truth Social calling for Cook's resignation. [43] Later that day, Cook rejected the demand, saying she would not be pressured to leave her post over "some questions raised in a tweet" and promised "to take any questions about [her] financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve". [44]

On August 25, President Trump announced that he fired Cook, ostensibly for cause, because of the allegations. [45] [46] In a response, Cook said "President Trump purported to fire me 'for cause' when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so." Cook's attorney, Abbe Lowell, said that: "President Trump has taken to social media to once again 'fire by tweet' and once again his reflex to bully is flawed and his demands lack any proper process, basis or legal authority ... We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action". [47] In the Federal Reserve's 112 years of operation, the attempted firing of Cook is the first time a president has attempted to fire a governor. [48]

On August 28, Cook filed a lawsuit against President Trump over the decision to fire her arguing that the White House has no authority to order the dismissal. [49] [50] [51]

On September 2, an open letter signed by 593 economists and several Nobel laureates was released; it defended Federal Reserve independence and warned that firing Cook would erode trust in "one of America's most important institutions", stating in part that "Good economic policy requires credible monetary institutions. Credible monetary institutions, in turn, require the independence of the Federal Reserve." [52] [53] [54] On September 3, U.S. Senators Mike Rounds and Thom Tillis stated in interviews that they would not consider any replacement for Cook until the litigation was resolved. [55] [56]

On September 9, Judge Jia M. Cobb from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia temporarily blocked the president from removing Lisa Cook from the board of governors. The ruling states that the president's justifications for removing Cook are not meeting the threshold for sufficient cause. One part of the line of reasoning for the ruling is that the action of the loan application was prior to tenure as a Federal Reserve governor. Based on this decision, Cook will be able to vote in the next Federal Reserve meeting. [57]

On September 12, Reuters published an analysis of "loan [and] job-vetting forms" submitted by Cook, which multiple legal and financial experts say completely refute or dramatically weaken the claims of mortgage fraud. [58] [13] The documents reviewed by Reuters show "that Cook had declared the property [in Georgia] as a 'vacation home'" rather than a principal residence as claimed by Trump administration officials; they include both a loan estimate document submitted to her mortgage lender, as well as the SF-86 document submitted by U.S. government officials during background checks. Reuters also noted that "standard federal mortgage paperwork" specifically allows for exceptions from the use of mortgaged properties as primary residence, if agreed in writing. Property records also showed that Cook never sought a primary residence tax exemption in Georgia. [13] On September 13, "lawyers for Ms. Cook referenced the newly unearthed documents in urging a panel of judges to allow her to continue serving". [58]

On September 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the September 9 ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This ruling allowed Cook to vote at the September 16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting the day after the ruling. [59] The same day, Reuters reported that a request made to the tax assessor of Ann Arbor, Michigan did not reveal any violation of primary residence rules related to tax exemptions for Cook's property in the city. [60] On September 18, the Trump administration petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court with an emergency appeal to lift the lower court rulings. [61] [62]

Notes

  1. ↑ On August 25, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that he was removing Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, citing alleged misconduct. Federal law allows governors to be removed only "for cause", a provision intended to protect the central bank's independence. Cook disputed the allegations and filed suit in federal court, arguing that her dismissal was unlawful and politically motivated. As litigation proceeds, she remains legally considered an active governor, [1] pending a judicial ruling on whether the president had authority to remove her.

Selected works

References

  1. ↑ Smith, Colby; Casselman, Ben (August 29, 2025). "How the Future of the Fed Came to Rest on Lisa Cook". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2025. Until a court rules otherwise, Ms. Cook is still an active governor at the Fed. The central bank stipulated as much in a rare statement related to the president's recent actions against the institution and its members.
  2. ↑ Ward, Kim (January 12, 2022). "MSU's Lisa Cook elected to Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago board". MSUToday. Michigan State University. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  3. ↑ Lisa D. Cook, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
  4. 1 2 "American Economic Association". www.aeaweb.org. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Hired Pen, Inc. "Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession Profiles: Lisa D. Cook, Michigan State University". American Economic Association. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Lisa Cook". Equitable Growth. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  7. ↑ Smith, Colby; Casselman, Ben (August 29, 2025). "How the Future of the Fed Came to Rest on Lisa Cook". The New York Times. Retrieved September 3, 2025. Ms. Cook stood out as one of relatively few Black women in economics, something that remains true nearly 30 years after she earned her doctorate in the field.
  8. ↑ Casselman, Ben; Tankersley, Jim (June 10, 2020). "Economics, dominated by white men, is roiled by Black Lives Matter". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ Franck, Thomas (January 14, 2022). "Biden to nominate Sarah Bloom Raskin as vice chair for supervision at Fed; Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson as governors". CNBC. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  10. ↑ Lane, Sylvan (May 23, 2022). "Biden's Fed nominees sworn into office". The Hill. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  11. ↑ Mallin, Alexander; Charalambous, Peter; Faulders, Katherine; Bruggeman, Lucien; Rubin, Olivia (September 4, 2025). "Justice Department opens criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook: Sources". ABC News. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  12. ↑ Schartz, Brian. DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Into Fed’s Cook, Issues Subpoenas, Wall Street Journal , September 4, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 Chris Prentice; Marisa Taylor (September 12, 2025). "Exclusive: Fed Governor Cook declared her Atlanta property as "vacation home," documents show". Archived from the original on September 12, 2025. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  14. ↑ Smith, Colby; Casselman, Ben (August 29, 2025). "How the Future of the Fed Came to Rest on Lisa Cook". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2025. Until a court rules otherwise, Ms. Cook is still an active governor at the Fed. The central bank stipulated as much in a rare statement related to the president's recent actions against the institution and its members.
  15. ↑ Buchwald, Elisabeth; Mena, Bryan (August 25, 2025). "Trump says he has fired Fed governor Lisa Cook. She says she will 'continue to carry out' duties". CNN Business. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  16. ↑ Wiessner, Daniel; Wolfe, Jan; Wiessner, Daniel (September 16, 2025). "US appeals court rejects Trump bid to oust Fed's Lisa Cook". Reuters. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  17. ↑ Basken, Paul (October 14, 2021). "Interview with Lisa Cook". Times Higher Education. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  18. 1 2 3 Khang, Hyun-Sung (December 2020). "The Accidental Economist: Lisa D. Cook of Michigan State University". Finance & Development. International Monetary Fund. pp. 48–51. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  19. 1 2 3 Childs, Mary; Duffin, Karin (June 12, 2020). "Planet Money: Patent Racism" (Podcast transcript). NPR. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  20. ↑ Hasenstab, Maria (February 20, 2019). "Mount Kilimanjaro and Becoming an Economics Professor". Women in Economics (Podcast). Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Cook, Lisa DeNell (1997). Three essays on internal and external credit markets in post-Soviet and Tsarist Russia (PhD dissertation). University of California, Berkeley. OCLC   931666108. ProQuest   304344980.
  22. ↑ Cook, Lisa D. (2014). "Violence and Economic Activity: Evidence from African American Patents, 1870–1940". Journal of Economic Growth . 19 (2): 221–257. doi:10.1007/s10887-014-9102-z. S2CID   153971489.
  23. ↑ Cook, Lisa D. (2012). "Converging to a National Lynching Database: Recent Developments and the Way Forward". Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History. 45 (2): 55–63. doi:10.1080/01615440.2011.639289. S2CID   154428680.
  24. ↑ Bhattacharya, Jhumpa (November 1, 2019). "Episode 27: Dr. Lisa D. Cook and Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman". Hidden Truths (Podcast). Oakland, California, USA: Insight Center for Community Economic Development. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  26. ↑ Franck, Thomas; Wilkie, Christina (May 21, 2021). "Key Senate Dem's choice for Fed board is an economist who would be the first Black woman to serve in that role". CNBC. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  27. ↑ White House Office of the Press Secretary (January 14, 2022). "President Biden Nominates Sarah Bloom Raskin to Serve as Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve, and Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson to Serve as Governors" (Press release). Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  28. 1 2 Rugaber, Christopher (March 29, 2022). "Senate advances Fed nominee Lisa Cook on party-line vote". Associated Press.
  29. 1 2 Aratani, Lauren (September 4, 2025). "US justice department reportedly opens criminal inquiry into Fed governor Lisa Cook". The Guardian . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  30. ↑ "PN1679 — Lisa DeNell Cook — Federal Reserve System 117th Congress (2021–2022)". US Congress. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  31. ↑ Lane, Sylvan (March 16, 2022). "Senate panel advances Biden Fed nominees to confirmation votes". The Hill. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  32. ↑ Roll call vote 110 , via Senate.gov
  33. ↑ Chasmar, Jessica (February 1, 2022). "Biden Fed nominee's old tweets show she's 'hyper-partisan,' Republicans say". Fox Business .
  34. ↑ Siegel, Rachel (May 10, 2022). "Economist Lisa Cook to become first Black woman on Fed board". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  35. ↑ White House Office of the Press Secretary (May 12, 2023). "President Biden Announces Nominees to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors" (Press release). Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  36. ↑ "PN644 — Lisa DeNell Cook — Federal Reserve System 118th Congress (2023–2024)". US Congress. September 6, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  37. ↑ "Trump says Fed Governor Lisa Cook 'must resign' after William Pulte alleges mortgage fraud". NBC News. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  38. ↑ Isidore, Chris (August 29, 2025). "Trump official lodges new criminal referral against Fed Governor Lisa Cook | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  39. ↑ Nguyen, Danny (August 21, 2025). "Meet the Trump housing official leading probes into the president's foes". POLITICO. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  40. 1 2 Breuninger, Kevin (September 4, 2025). "Pulte refuses to say where he got Lisa Cook mortgage fraud 'tip'". CNBC. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  41. ↑ Salhotra, Pooja (July 24, 2025). "Ken Paxton Claimed Three Houses as His Primary Residence, Records Show". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  42. ↑ Kopack, Steve (September 11, 2025). "House Dems seek probe of housing chief's allegations against Fed's Lisa Cook". NBC News. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  43. ↑ Romm, Tony; Casselman, Ben; Smith, Colby (August 20, 2025). "President Steps Up Attack on Fed as He Demands a Governor Resign". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  44. ↑ Mena, Bryan (August 20, 2025). "Trump is pressuring yet another top Fed official to resign, but she says she won't be 'bullied' | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  45. ↑ Horsley, Scott (August 25, 2025). "Trump seeks to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook". NPR. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  46. ↑ Mena, Elisabeth Buchwald, Bryan (August 26, 2025). "Lisa Cook: Trump says he has fired Fed governor, escalating his battle against the central bank | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved August 26, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  47. ↑ Doherty, Erin; Mangan, Dan (August 25, 2025). "Trump tells Fed's Lisa Cook she's fired; she says 'he has no authority to do so'". CNBC. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  48. ↑ Rugaber, Christopher (August 28, 2025). "Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook sues the Trump administration to overturn her firing". Associated Press News . Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  49. ↑ "Fed Governor Lisa Cook Sues Trump Over Dismissal". August 28, 2025. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  50. ↑ "Read Lisa Cook's Lawsuit". The New York Times. August 28, 2025. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  51. ↑ "COOK v. TRUMP, 1:25-cv-02903 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  52. ↑ Breuninger, Kevin (September 2, 2025). "Fed Governor Lisa Cook 'did not ever commit mortgage fraud,' her lawyer says". CNBC. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  53. ↑ "Economists back Fed Governor Cook as Trump attempts ouster". France 24 . Agence France-Presse. September 3, 2025. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  54. ↑ Deryugina, Tatyana (September 2, 2025). "Open Letter in Support of Governor Lisa Cook & Fed Independence". GitHub. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  55. ↑ Goodman, Jasper; Carney, Jordain (September 3, 2025). "Tillis says he will not consider Lisa Cook Fed replacement amid legal dispute". Politico. Axel Springer SE. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  56. ↑ Doherty, Erin; Wilkins, Emily (September 3, 2025). "GOP senators not in rush to consider Lisa Cook replacement on Fed until case resolved". CNBC. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  57. ↑ "Judge Rules Fed Governor Can Remain in Role, for Now". September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  58. 1 2 Tony Romm; Ben Casselman; Colby Smith (September 13, 2025). "Documents Raise Questions About Fraud Claims Against Fed Governor" . New York Times . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  59. ↑ "Appeals Court Says Lisa Cook Can Remain on Fed Board". September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  60. ↑ Taylor, Marisa; Prentice, Chris (September 15, 2025). "Exclusive: No evidence of primary residence violation by Fed Gov Lisa Cook, says Michigan official". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  61. ↑ Mangan, Dan (September 18, 2025). "Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook". CNBC. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  62. ↑ Sherman, Mark (September 18, 2025). "Trump asks the Supreme Court for an emergency order to remove Lisa Cook from the Fed board". Associated Press. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
Lisa Cook
Lisa D. Cook, Federal Reserve Governor.jpg
Official portrait, 2022
Member of the
Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Disputed
Assumed office
May 23, 2022
Disputed: August 25, 2025 [a] – present*
Government offices
Preceded by Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
2022–present
Disputed since 2025		Incumbent
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