United States: Trump increases pressure on the Fed by demanding the resignation of Governor Lisa Cook

Engrossed in his quest to reshape the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to his liking, Donald Trump has found a new target: Lisa Cook. The US president posted a message on his Truth Social network on Wednesday, August 20, targeting the economist, a member of the US central bank's board of governors: "Cook must resign, now!!!"

This statement follows the publication of several press reports revealing that the White House is seriously considering removing Lisa Cook, 61, from her post. Joe Biden's 2022 appointment to the Fed, whose term ends in 2036. Governors, who guarantee the institution's independence, are supposed to be protected from the whims of the presidency and can only be removed for serious offenses.

In this case, Lisa Cook is the target of an online campaign led by Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. This close friend of Mr. Trump and a campaign donor claims, in a post on X published Wednesday, that the governor completed mortgage applications in 2021 for two properties, located in Michigan and Georgia, indicating each time that they were her primary residence, which allowed her to obtain more favorable rates. The validity of these accusations has not been confirmed and the person concerned has not commented. Contacted, the Fed did not respond.

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