Trump says he’s firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook; Cook says he has no authority.

On August 26, 2025, former President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook, citing alleged false statements on a mortgage form. Cook refused to resign, claiming Trump lacks the authority. Legal experts expect court battles, as the Federal Reserve Act allows dismissal only "for cause."

The point person of this investigatin is William Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency,  he’s become a central figure in a spate of mortgage-fraud allegations aimed at high-profile officials. In public letters and posts, Pulte has alleged residency misrepresentations and referred matters to the DOJ—most prominently involving Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and previously NY AG Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff. Those he’s targeted have denied wrongdoing.

However William Pulte has produced evidence, specifically he tweeted images of Lisa Cook's signiture on Atlanta Condo and a Michigan home mortgage applications confirminig both are primary residences:

Claiming more than one home as your primary residence is typically treated as occupancy misrepresentation—a form of mortgage fraud—because owner-occupied loans are priced and underwritten more favorably than second-home or investment loans. Lender guidelines usually require that you (and, if applicable, your family) intend to occupy one property as your principal home, often within ~60 days of closing and for most of the year; telling a lender that two different houses meet that test at the same time is a material false statement that can trigger loan acceleration, higher “re-priced” terms, denied insurance claims, fines, or even criminal penalties. The reason people try it is the upside of a true primary: lower interest rates and fees, smaller down payments, access to owner-occupied programs (e.g., FHA/VA), potential homestead property-tax benefits.

A key concern is that politicians often feel they can get away with breaking the law because of their strong connections. While this story is very new, the expected partisan reactions are already appearing: Democrats offering protection and Republicans attacking. If Lisa Cook were a Republican, you’d likely see the mirror image—Republican defenses and Democratic attacks. Lately, it’s less about the alleged misconduct than about which side of the aisle someone is on. The bigger problem is that politicians often base their actions on defending their own members or attacking the other party. Both parties need to reach a point where they oust their own members when crime or fraud occurs.

Let's shift to cryptocurrency, In recent remarks on financial stability, Cook grouped stablecoins (along with private credit, cyber threats and AI) as areas she’s watching closely because they can transmit stress into the broader system. She’s flagged the risk of runs and liquidity mismatches in stablecoins and has supported clearer, comprehensive federal oversight for dollar-pegged tokens used in payments.  She frames digital assets as an innovation area that warrants prudential guardrails before they scale. 

The last sentence is common political speak suggesting that crypto is still too dangerous and should be slowed down. The phrase "prudential guardrails before they scale" is out of touch, as cryptocurrency has existed since 2009 and has already been scaling for years. This framing reinforces the idea that individuals supposedly need additional protections, which politicians claim requires more study. In practice, it means that in the short term—and likely the long term—the stance is simply: let’s not change anything and just avoid using it for now.