President Donald Trump isn't thrilled with the state of the Federal Reserve, given that it has refused to lower interest rates on Jerome Powell's watch.

Recently, the president called for Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook to step down from her position in the wake of the news of a criminal referral about her regarding an alleged mortgage fraud situation, and she's not answering the call, The Hill reported. 

Cook made it clear this week that she has no intention of stepping down from her position. She released a statement explaining why she's making the decision to defy the president's wishes.

She made it clear in her statement that she felt she was being "bullied" into stepping down, vowing to resist calls from the White House despite the potential upcoming investigation.

What did she say?

Cook released a statement this week explaining her position.

The Fed Reserve governor said she "learned from the media that [Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)] Director William Pulte posted on social media that he was making a criminal referral based on a mortgage application from four years ago, before I joined the Federal Reserve."

She argued that she was being forced to resign because of a social media post, insisting that the "facts" she provides about the potential fraud case will suffice.

"I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet," she said.

"I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts."

"The great irony of Fed Governor Lisa Cook's alleged mortgage fraud is that the Fed refuses to lower rates for us but they’ll commit mortgage fraud to get lower rates for themselves."

Talking the Fed from Jackson Hole with @cvpayne pic.twitter.com/yktytjtkbA

— James Fishback (@j_fishback) August 21, 2025

What did Trump say?

“Lisa D. Cook, committed mortgage fraud by designating her out-of-state condo as her primary residence, just two weeks after taking a loan on her Michigan home where she also declared it as her primary residence,” the president wrote recently.

"Cook must resign, now!!!" he added.

The Department of Justice has not yet confirmed that it will open an investigation into Cook's situation.

If it ultimately does investigate, it'll be interesting to see if she decides to resign her post.