Criminal Referral Triggers Historic Move Against Biden-Appointed Fed Governor [WATCH]

President Donald Trump removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her position on Monday, alleging she made false statements on mortgage documents by claiming two different primary residences.

Trump becomes the first president ever to remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor

— Pulte (@pulte) August 26, 2025

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In a letter to Cook, the president said the Federal Reserve Act permits him to remove a governor at his discretion and directed her immediate departure from office.

“As set forth in the Criminal Referral dated August 15, 2025, from Mr. William J. Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to Ms. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States…there is sufficient reason to believe you may have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements,” Trump wrote.

“For example, as detailed in the Criminal Referral, you signed one document attesting that a property in Michigan would be your primary residence for the next year.”

“Two weeks later, you signed another document for a property in Georgia stating that it would be your primary residence for the next year,” the letter continued.

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“It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second. It is impossible that you intended to honor both.”

Trump said the central bank “has a tremendous responsibility” to set interest rates and regulate financial institutions, and he argued that public confidence requires unquestioned integrity from its leadership.

“In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot, and I do not have such confidence in your integrity,” he wrote.

“At a 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.”

🚨 President Donald J. Trump relieves Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of her position pic.twitter.com/tJV8m4mlHW

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 26, 2025

The action follows public warnings from the president that Cook could be dismissed amid an ongoing Department of Justice review.

On Friday, Trump told reporters, “I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign.”

He added, “What she did was bad.”

According to the White House account in the letter, the DOJ review stems from a criminal referral submitted on Wednesday by William J. Pulte, described as a staunch ally of Trump and a critic of the Federal Reserve.

In that referral, Pulte accused Cook of having “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.”

The removal raises legal questions about the scope of presidential authority over members of the Federal Reserve Board.

Under federal law governing the Federal Reserve System, a president may remove a sitting governor for cause, a standard that has historically been interpreted to cover malfeasance or misconduct rather than policy disagreements.

The White House letter asserts discretionary removal authority under the Federal Reserve Act, and the move could prompt litigation testing the limits of that authority.

The president’s decision marks the first time in history that a president has attempted to remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor.

The White House and its allies have repeatedly urged the central bank to lower interest rates, citing economic conditions and the cost of servicing the more than $37 trillion U.S. national debt.

Trump has previously criticized rate policy but has backed off earlier threats to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Cook joined the Federal Reserve Board after being appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022.

She was confirmed by the Senate on a 51–47 vote in September 2023. Her current 14-year term as a governor began in 2024 and runs through 2038.

The Justice Department’s review of the mortgage allegations remains ongoing.

The letter from the president cited the referral’s claims that Cook signed one document indicating a Michigan property would be her primary residence for the following year and, two weeks later, signed another document for a Georgia property making the same attestation.