Trump housing chief lodges fresh criminal referral for Fed Governor Lisa Cook

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said Thursday he has filed a second criminal referral with the Justice Department against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, as President Donald Trump presses ahead with efforts to remove her from the board.

In a post on X, Pulte said the referral involves a mortgage for a Cambridge, Massachusetts, condo. He alleged Cook told the bank it was a second home to get the loan, but later listed it as a rental property in government ethics filings.

Pulte also claimed that Cook misreported the status of two other homes — listing an Atlanta property as her home while renting it out, and calling an Ann Arbor, Michigan, home as her primary residence even though he said it was also used as a rental.

He argued these inconsistencies may have allowed her to get better mortgage terms than those normally applied to investment properties.

“Three strikes and you’re out,” Pulte wrote, adding that the discrepancies showed Cook “made multiple false representations, including to the U.S. government.”

Pulte shared images of a letter he sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi and senior Justice Department official Ed Martin outlining the claims.

The move also aims to counter arguments that Trump cannot legally oust Cook, since Pulte’s earlier referral focused on conduct before she joined the Fed.

Pulte’s claim comes after Cook sued President Donald Trump on Thursday over his attempt to oust her, setting up an enormous legal battle around the central bank's independence.

The lawsuit states that it is challenging Trump's "unprecedented and illegal attempt" to oust Cook from the seven-member Board of Governors, part of the broader panel that votes on interest rates. Lawyers for Cook are asking the federal court to confirm her status as a Fed governor so she can continue in her official capacities.

The White House has said it had exercised "lawful authority" in removing Cook, saying there was “cause to remove a governor who was credibly accused of lying in financial documents from a highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions”. 

It is the latest step in a legal battle that's likely to land on the steps of the Supreme Court within weeks. Trump had steadily ratcheted up his attacks on the central bank in his quest to secure lower interest rates, and eventually moved to fire Cook.

He has recently signaled that he wants to have Fed appointees who share his views on the economy and monetary policy. "Once we have a majority, housing is going to swing, and it’s going to be great,” he said at the White House on Tuesday. “People are paying too high an interest rate. That’s the only problem with housing.”

—Joseph Zeballos-Roig contributed to this article.