NEW: Trump Removes Top Federal Reserve Official, Dems Melt Down

President Donald Trump broke new ground again late Monday, becoming the first president to remove a sitting member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors after he accused member Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud.

In a letter to Cook, Trump wrote that the Federal Reserve Act empowers him to remove members of the board based on allegations of criminal wrongdoing. Cook, through an attorney, denied the allegations.

“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,” Trump continued. “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 added that the Federal Reserve carries a “tremendous responsibility” to set the nation’s interest rates, and that governors must retain the trust of Americans to fulfill their duties.

“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,” Trump 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.”

Pulte, a fierce Trump ally, has made waves through Washington, D.C. after alleging top Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James, are criminally liable for mortgage fraud. Both officials are alleged to have misrepresented their residency in order to obtain more favorable loan terms from the federal government.

Cook has refused to resign after more than a week of pressure from the White House. In her latest response, the Biden appointee has suggested that she will contest Trump’s decision in court.

“I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign,” Trump told Fox Business on Friday. “What she did was bad.”

Cook is the first black woman to sit on the Fed’s Board of Directors after being appointed in 2022 by former President Joe Biden. Her term extends through 2036 and has presented the greatest obstacle to Trump as he seeks to flex greater control over the nation’s central bank.