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WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

Trump's Federal Reserve Power Play, Firing Lisa Cook

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

42.7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Donald Trump dismisses the Fed Governor for "cause," citing allegations aired on social media that she claimed two primary residences while applying for mortgages. Cook says she'll refuse to go, setting up a serious legal and constitutional fight. But is this really about Trump's demand for lower interest rates, and do Americans want Fed monetary policy to follow political orders? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:33.4

From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.

0:39.6

President Trump moves to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for cause,

0:45.3

citing allegations that she made false statements on mortgage documents.

0:49.6

But Cook says she'll refuse to go, setting up a legal and maybe a constitutional battle over the Fed and its

0:55.9

independence on monetary policy. Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal.

1:00.8

We're joined today by my colleagues on the editorial page columnist Alicia Finley and Joe Sternberg.

1:08.3

Add one more name to the list of public officials fired by a Trump tweet,

1:13.0

or I guess now it's a true social post. That's Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Last week,

1:18.4

the president's housing regulator Bill Pulte posted to social media a criminal referral he had made for

1:24.2

Cook, accusing her of filing for two mortgages at around the same time,

1:29.3

with both homes claimed as for primary residence.

1:33.0

The Justice Department is reportedly looking into this, but President Trump isn't waiting.

1:38.2

Here's part of the letter that he posted on Monday night to True Social.

1:42.4

The Federal Reserve has tremendous responsibility for setting interest rates and regulating

...

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