NEW YORK - President Donald Trump on Aug. 25 took the unprecedented action of firing Lisa Cook, the first African American woman to serve as a Federal Reserve governor, over claims of mortgage borrowing impropriety.
The president had called on Cook to resign on Aug. 20 after U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, who was appointed by Trump, accused her of claiming two of her mortgages as primary residences. The Department of Justice said it was looking into the matter.
"I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position," Trump said in a letter to Cook posted on his Truth Social platform. Trump said there was sufficient evidence that Cook had made false statements on mortgage applications.
"At minimum, the conduct at issue exhibits the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator," he said.
Cook had been defiant about continuing onward at the Fed.
