As President Donald Trump was dealt a legal blow in his campaign to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, fresh scrutiny has emerged over the hypocrisy at the heart of his attack.
Late Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump from removing Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s Board of Governors, ruling that the president’s justifications for firing her failed to meet the legal threshold for “cause” required under the law.
Judge Jia M. Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said Trump’s move to oust Cook did not meet the standard of “professional neglect or wrongdoing,” in part because the alleged mortgage misstatements occurred in 2021—before Cook’s appointment to the Fed, according to New York Times.
“The best reading of the ‘for cause’ provision is that the bases for removal of a member of the Board of Governors are limited to grounds concerning a governor’s behavior in office and whether they have been faithfully and effectively executing their statutory duties,” Cobb wrote. “‘For cause’ thus does not contemplate removing an individual purely for conduct that occurred before they began in office.”
The ruling represents an early but significant setback for Trump, who has tried to frame Cook’s mortgages as proof of “deceitful and potentially criminal” behavior.
Yet, as ProPublica is reporting, three members of Trump’s own Cabinet hold nearly identical mortgages listing multiple properties as “primary residences.” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin all maintain such loans—precisely the arrangement Trump has denounced as grounds to fire Cook.
And the three Cabinet members have claimed they haven’t done anything wrong.
“This is just another hit piece from a left-wing dark money group that constantly attempts to smear President Trump’s incredible Cabinet members,” the White House said in a statement to Pro Publica.
“Unlike [Fed Gov.] Lisa ‘Corrupt’ Cook who blatantly and intentionally committed mortgage fraud, Secretary DeRemer, Secretary Duffy, and Administrator Zeldin own multiple residences, and they have followed the law and they are fully compliant with all ethical obligations.”
“Few consumers understand this issue, and if there is someone at fault here, it is likely the loan officer who likely advised them to sign up for this loan that obviously wasn’t for their primary residence,” real estate lawyer Doug Miller told Pro Publica.
“Loan officers who are competing for business will often quote lower rates in order to get a customer’s business,” he added. And, according to lawyers and federal sentencing data, mortgage fraud is rarely prosecuted.
But last month Federal Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte alleged that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.” Cook owns property in Georgia and Michigan.
It’s all part of Trump’s pressure campaign against the Fed, traditionally an independent agency that sets interest rates, which Trump has ranted about since before even taking office. He’s locked in a bitter feud with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who has refused to give in to Trump’s demands to lower rates.
And Cook has refused to leave her position.
“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” Cook said in a statement last month.
“I will not resign and will continue my work to support the U.S. economy, as I have since 2022,” she added.
She also said she would not be “bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” in response to Pulte and Trump’s accusations.
The legal fight over Cook’s removal is far from over, with Trump vowing to press ahead. But Judge Cobb’s decision has undercut the administration’s central claim—and highlighted the glaring contradictions within Trump’s own Cabinet.