This comes after a series of tweets from Bill Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, with supposed evidence supporting claims that she was not living at her home in Ann Arbor, MI. Questions, however, still remain as to if she is even guilty, given that she has not yet been convicted (though the DOJ probe might change that) and whether this is even fair grounds to fire her from her position on the Board of Governors in the first place.

Cook's legal team maintains that she "never committed mortgage fraud," asserting that discrepancies in her mortgage paperwork were already flagged and addressed during her 2022 confirmation process. Indeed, her legal team has filed a lawsuit against Trump over his attempts to remove her. The rest of the Governing Board, including Chair Powell, were also named in the suit, though they are "being sued only to the extent that they are able to effectuate President Trump's purported termination of Governor Cook."

Whether Cook is guilty or not, there are clear political incentives for Trump to fire her. As it stands, Trump has two Governors, Waller and Bowman, ready and willing to vouch for cuts if it means it will get them on the short list for Fed Chair. Meanwhile, Stephen Miran is on deck to replace Kugler, who stepped down shortly after the July FOMC decision. With Cook still employed, Trump sympathizers are capped at a 3-4 minority. If Trump can stack the Fed with another pick of his own to replace Cook and pull in a sympathetic outsider to act as Fed Chair when Powell steps down, Trump would achieve a 5-2 majority on the Board in 2026.

But before Miran can step into Kugler's shoes, he must be confirmed by the Senate. Yesterday, Miran testified before the Senate Banking Committee, making his case for confirmation. According to Senator Moreno, Miran is already ahead, having confirmed that Miran has "never lied on a mortgage application." Miran made sure to emphasize his commitment to Fed independence in his prepared statement. However, Senator Warren challenged this, asking Miran several pointed questions, including whether Trump lost the 2020 election. Miran avoided a direct answer, stating only that Congress confirmed Biden's victory. Other questions included if he believed the Bureau of Labor Statistics falsified data ahead of the 2024 election (in an attempt to sway public sentiment in favor of Harris) and if he thought tariffs had caused tangible price increases. Warren criticized Miran's responses, saying he had "blown it" and made his loyalty to Trump clear.