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President Donald Trump says he’s firing Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, amid mortgage fraud allegations, opening a new front in the fight over America’s central bank.
The president’s announcement came Monday night, days after Cook said she wouldn’t leave her post despite Trump calling for her to resign over an accusation from one his officials that she committed mortgage fraud.
Trump appointee Bill Pulte, the head of the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, alleged on social media last week that Cook had claimed two primary residences — in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Atlanta — in 2021 to get better mortgage terms. Mortgage rates are often higher on second homes or those purchased to rent.
Trump said in announcing the move that he had the constitutional authority to remove Cook, but doing so will raise questions about control of the Fed as an independent entity, as Trump would likely appoint a loyalist to the Fed’s governing board with Cook gone.
Other news we’re following:
- Trump hosts South Korea’s new leader at WH: Trump met with Lee Jae Myung on Monday for trade talks. Trump had previously threatened on social media not to do business with Seoul due to what Trump called a “Purge or Revolution” taking place in South Korea, referring to raids on churches and on a U.S. military base by the country’s new government. But any prospect of a hostile Oval Office meeting evaporated after Lee heaped praise onto Trump — lauding the decor, beseeching Trump to continue to help with Korean peace efforts and even suggesting a Trump Tower in North Korea.
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia detained by ICE: The Salvadorian national, whose arrest and fight to stay in the U.S. has become a flashpoint in Trump’s immigration crackdown, faces possible efforts by the Trump administration to deport him to Uganda. He surrendered Monday morning to U.S. immigration authorities in Baltimore.
- Trump signs new executive orders: Earlier Monday, Trump signed orders that task the Justice Department with investigating instances of flag burning, require the defense secretary to increase training for National Guard units and threaten to revoke federal funding to local and state governments that offer cashless bail.
