U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he was firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook over alleged improprieties in obtaining mortgage loans, an unprecedented step that could test the boundaries of presidential power over the independent monetary policy body should it be challenged in court.
In a letter to Cook, the first African-American woman to serve on the Federal Reserve's governing body, Trump said that he had "sufficient cause to remove you from your position” because in 2021 Cook is alleged to have indicated on documents for separate mortgage loans on properties in Michigan and Georgia that both were a primary residence where she intended to live. Cook, appointed to the Fed board in 2022 by former U.S. President Joe Biden, has yet to provide a detailed account of the transactions since questions about them were raised last week by U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency director William Pulte, who referred the matter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi for investigation.
Neither Cook or the Fed had an immediate response.
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