WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump called for the resignation of a Biden-appointed Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, following accusations from his administration that she engaged in mortgage fraud.

Trump's new focus on Cook, who former President Joe Biden nominated to the board in 2022, escalates the president's attacks on the independent Federal Reserve, which is governed by a seven-member board to set monetary policy.

"Cook must resign, now!!!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on the morning of Aug. 20, shortly after Bill Pulte, director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, publicized a letter referring the Fed governor for criminal prosecution to the Justice Department.

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Pulte, in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, accused Cook of falsifying bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms. He said this included falsifying residence statuses in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Atlanta to potentially secure lower interest rates.