Friday, 16 January 2026
Jakarta
--:--
Tokyo
--:--
Hongkong
--:--
New York
--:--
Fed Governor Cook says mortgage 'contradictions' do not justify removal by Trump
Wednesday, 3 September 2025 06:02 WIB | FISCAL & MONETARY |Global

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Tuesday laid out in greater detail her opposition to President Donald Trump's bid to remove her from office, saying it was too late to fire her for mortgage information she disclosed during her confirmation process.

In a filing in U.S. District Court, Cook said she listed mortgages on three properties on forms submitted to the White House and U.S. Senate in the vetting process for her appointment to the Fed in 2022. Any inconsistencies were known when she was confirmed and cannot give Trump grounds to fire her now, she said.

Trump and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, whom Trump appointed, have accused her of committing fraud by listing all three properties as primary residences when she applied for mortgages, potentially to secure lower interest rates.

Trump has said that gives him cause to fire Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor.

She has filed a lawsuit seeking to block her unprecedented removal, setting up a legal battle that could upend long-established norms for the Fed's independence. Tuesday's filing reiterated in greater detail arguments she made in court last week as part of the lawsuit.

In the filing, Cook said that on a background check form, she listed a property in Michigan as a primary residence and one in Georgia as a "2nd home." On a separate questionnaire she listed both homes as her "present residence," the Michigan property as her "current permanent residence," and a third property in Massachusetts as both a present residence and a second home and rental property, she said.

"If those are facial contradictions, as the Government and President claim ... Senators or White House advisors could have inquired of her about any alleged 'facial inconsistencies,'" Cook's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, wrote in the filing.

The White House and the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cook has asked U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., to temporarily block Trump from removing her from her post pending further litigation. She says that Trump does not have the legal authority to remove her and that the fraud allegations were a pretext to do so.

Cobb held a hearing on Friday where a Trump administration lawyer argued that removing a Fed governor for cause is within the president's broad powers and Cobb had no power to review it.

Trump, a Republican, attacked the Fed for not cutting interest rates during his first term in the White House and resumed that campaign when his second term began in January. He has berated Fed Chair Jerome Powell, though he has stopped threatening to remove Powell before his term as central bank chief ends in May.

RELATED NEWS
Fed's Miran says he's looking for rate cut of 150 basis points this year...
Thursday, 8 January 2026 22:55 WIB

Stephen Miran, a Federal Reserve governor whose term ends at the end of January, said Thursday that he is looking for 150 basis points of interest-rate cuts this year to boost the U.S. labor market. ...

Fed Vice Chair Bowman outlines regulatory modernization efforts...
Thursday, 8 January 2026 05:35 WIB

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman outlined significant changes to bank supervision and regulation during a speech at the California Bankers Association Bank Presidents Seminar...

Fed's Barkin says future rate changes should be fine-tuned based on incoming data....
Tuesday, 6 January 2026 23:47 WIB

Further changes to the Federal Reserve's short-term interest rate will need to be "finely tuned" to incoming data given the risks to both the U.S. central bank's employment and inflation goals, Richmo...

Fed President Barkin Sees ‘Fragile Balance' Awaiting New Data...
Tuesday, 6 January 2026 20:26 WIB

Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Tom Barkin said the monetary policy outlook remains in a fragile balance given the conflicting pressures of rising unemployment and persistently high inflation....

Meeting Minutes Show Deep Disagreements at December Meeting...
Wednesday, 31 December 2025 02:12 WIB

The US Federal Reserve agreed to cut interest rates at its December meeting only after a highly nuanced debate about the current risks facing the US economy, according to minutes from the two-day meet...

LATEST NEWS
Gold rockets above $4,500, set for 4% weekly gain post US NFP

Gold price rises on Friday, poised to end with weekly gains of nearly 4% as an employment report in the US was mixed, with the economy adding fewer jobs than projected. Still, the Unemployment Rate ticked lower, yet investors are still betting the...

Gold Remains Sought After by Market Players

Harga emas kembali menguat pada perdagangan terbaru setelah sempat tertekan, didorong oleh melemahnya dolar AS dan turunnya imbal hasil obligasi pemerintah AS. Investor kembali memburu emas sebagai aset lindung nilai di tengah ketidakpastian arah...

Where's Silver Heading in the European Session?

Silver is currently hovering around $77,430, likely awaiting triggers from the US dollar and yields. If the dollar strengthens, silver is usually resilient; if the dollar weakens, silver rises more easily.Fundamentals are still supported by safe...

POPULAR NEWS