Opinion First Thing: Trump says he is firing Fed governor Lisa Cook in escalating attack on bank’s independence

[Seano]

No one is saying that cutting interest rates is always bad. What's alleged here is that undermining the independence of the Fed so that they make these decisions not based on their technical expertise and the prevailing economic conditions but the political whims of the president is what is bad.

He stated how lowering interest rates historically caused inflation and then suggested half the population is too stupid to understand. Lowering interest rates leads to lower prices, thus people spending more money. Supply and demand causes the price increase. This is how an economy functions. Thats why rates don't stay fixed.

 

[Rational Poster]

You're asking me? I never thought the 2020 election was stolen. You can go check for yourselves. I saw plenty contending that they didn't lose in 2020, but I wasn't convinced. I saw plenty who didn't think it was stolen either and that Trump should just move on. Seeing as it's years later and Trump was just re-elected, it's safe to say the majority of the voting public has moved on.


That black Americans can speak for themselves? No thanks. I'll stick with that. Let me know how that works out for you though.


Thank you for proving my point about you. Again.

You didn't prove any point, just kinda talked to yourself.

This idea you have that election results verify your beliefs is what's entirely childish.

Trump also has the lowest average approval in history, beating out only himself in 2016, lmao. Just because we had two shit sandwiches run for office doesn't mean either of them are right about anything, and certainly doesn't make you right about shit at all.

 

[Rational Poster]

He stated how lowering interest rates historically caused inflation and then suggested half the population is too stupid to understand. Lowering interest rates leads to lower prices, thus people spending more money. Supply and demand causes the price increase. This is how an economy functions. Thats why rates don't stay fixed.

Way to prove his point by demonstrating that you don't understand how lowering interest rates exacerbates inflation.

 

[CantCucktheTuck]

Can you link them?

Here is a link to the financial disclosures.

https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/F2E17F64B991C85785258CD8002C861A/$FILE/Lisa-Cook-2025-278ANNU.pdf

here is what reuters says we know know so far.

"Cook's annual financial disclosure, opens new tab, filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, shows one mortgage for an investment property and two mortgages for personal residences. All were dated 2021, when the Georgia native was a professor at Michigan State University and before her May 2022 confirmation by the Senate to the Fed Board of Governors."

"Cook's mortgage paperwork does identify two different properties as her primary abodes.
A public records search identified a $203,000 mortgage in Cook's name in Washtenaw County, Michigan dated June 18, 2021, and a $540,000 mortgage, also in her name, in Fulton County, Georgia, dated July 2, 2021. The mortgages were originated by the University of Michigan Credit Union for the Michigan property and Bank Fund Credit Union for the Georgia property.
Spokespersons for the two credit unions did not reply immediately to a request for comment.

Documentation for both contains an identical occupancy clause that requires the borrower to, within 60 days, "occupy the property as borrower's principal residence for at least one year after the date of occupancy, unless lender otherwise agrees in writing, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, or unless extenuating circumstances exist which are beyond borrower's control."

Fed Governor Cook's mortgages: What's known and what's not

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for "cause," citing what he said were "false statements" on two mortgages she took out in 2021, about a year before the Senate confirmed her appointment to the Fed.

www.reuters.com

 

[Confucamus]

This idea you have that election results verify your beliefs is what's entirely childish.

I suppose I should take your line of logic that everyone who disagrees with me is stupid because I say so?

 

[Rational Poster]

I suppose I should take your line of logic that everyone who disagrees with me is stupid because I say so?

Not everyone that disagrees with me is stupid, but you in particular are both stupid and dishonest.

 

[Islam Imamate]

You're asking me? I never thought the 2020 election was stolen. You can go check for yourselves. I saw plenty contending that they didn't lose in 2020, but I wasn't convinced. I saw plenty who didn't think it was stolen either and that Trump should just move on. Seeing as it's years later and Trump was just re-elected, it's safe to say the majority of the voting public has moved on.

No I'm not asking what you think, I'm pointing out that when Trump lost instead of accepting that loss he and the majority of the GOP rejected the results of the election and tried to overturn it. In light of that I hope you can forgive me if its hard to take the insistence on accountability from the MAGA side of the aisle seriously.

 

[Islam Imamate]

He stated how lowering interest rates historically caused inflation and then suggested half the population is too stupid to understand. Lowering interest rates leads to lower prices, thus people spending more money. Supply and demand causes the price increase. This is how an economy functions. Thats why rates don't stay fixed.

Okay, no one is against letting the Fed manage interest rates as they see fit given prevailing economic conditions. What they're against is Trump's attempt to undermine the independence of the Fed so that it can make decisions that are politically expedient for him.

 

[Islam Imamate]

Here is a link to the financial disclosures.

https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/F2E17F64B991C85785258CD8002C861A/$FILE/Lisa-Cook-2025-278ANNU.pdf

here is what reuters says we know know so far.

"Cook's annual financial disclosure, opens new tab, filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, shows one mortgage for an investment property and two mortgages for personal residences. All were dated 2021, when the Georgia native was a professor at Michigan State University and before her May 2022 confirmation by the Senate to the Fed Board of Governors."

"Cook's mortgage paperwork does identify two different properties as her primary abodes.
A public records search identified a $203,000 mortgage in Cook's name in Washtenaw County, Michigan dated June 18, 2021, and a $540,000 mortgage, also in her name, in Fulton County, Georgia, dated July 2, 2021. The mortgages were originated by the University of Michigan Credit Union for the Michigan property and Bank Fund Credit Union for the Georgia property.
Spokespersons for the two credit unions did not reply immediately to a request for comment.

Documentation for both contains an identical occupancy clause that requires the borrower to, within 60 days, "occupy the property as borrower's principal residence for at least one year after the date of occupancy, unless lender otherwise agrees in writing, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, or unless extenuating circumstances exist which are beyond borrower's control."

Fed Governor Cook's mortgages: What's known and what's not

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for "cause," citing what he said were "false statements" on two mortgages she took out in 2021, about a year before the Senate confirmed her appointment to the Fed.

www.reuters.com

Okay we've got a reputable source here so let's read through it. Right after the highlight portion the article goes on to say this:

It is not known if Cook obtained such an agreement, if there were extenuating circumstances, or whether or for how long she occupied either property.

So until that's cleared up its not actually obvious that any fraud was committed here. The article continues

"The real question to ask here was, was there any misleading of lenders," Cornell University Law Professor Robert Hockett said. "If the lenders knew... and they were able to factor that in in order to risk-price the lending, then that's above board."

THE BORROWING RATES
In fact, the mortgage rates Cook obtained were higher than the prevailing national averages at the time. It is not known when Cook locked in her mortgages, but typically borrowers fix their rate a month or two before the purchase.

Cook's financial disclosure shows one personal residence mortgage of $100,001-$250,000. Though the address is not specified, it is the same 15-year borrowing term as on her $203,000 Ann Arbor, Michigan, mortgage.
From the beginning of April to early July, the national average for the 15-year rate ranged from 2.23% to 2.45%.
Cook's rate was 2.875%.
Her financial disclosure identifies a second loan for a personal residence for $500,001-$1 million. Again the address is not listed but the value and term of the loan matches her $540,000 mortgage on her Atlanta, Georgia condominium.
The national average for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage ranged from 2.93% to 3.04% from April 15, 2021 to July 1, the day before she signed the mortgage, Freddie Mac data shows Cook's rate was 3.25%.

Fraud, Cornell's Hockett said, is generally "either affirmatively misrepresenting, or failing to disclose...such as to lead someone into taking a risk they wouldn’t otherwise risk, or give you something other than they would otherwise give you...the very fact that they didn't give her an advantageous rate suggests they were informed."

So if anything I would say its at worst unclear whether fraud happened and more likely than not that it didn't based on the context clues, at least according to the source you cited that is.

 

[Confucamus]

No I'm not asking what you think, I'm pointing out that when Trump lost instead of accepting that loss he and the majority of the GOP rejected the results of the election and tried to overturn it. In light of that I hope you can forgive me if its hard to take the insistence on accountability from the MAGA side of the aisle seriously.

No, I wouldn't blame you for feeling that way. A lack of accountability seems to be prevalent on all sides of the political aisle.

 

[Islam Imamate]

No, I wouldn't blame you for feeling that way. A lack of accountability seems to be prevalent on all sides of the political aisle.

You're not equivocating between the two sides on that issue though are you? There was nothing comparable to the Stop the Steal movement after Trump won in 2024.

 

[MeatheadMike]

He stated how lowering interest rates historically caused inflation and then suggested half the population is too stupid to understand. Lowering interest rates leads to lower prices, thus people spending more money. Supply and demand causes the price increase. This is how an economy functions. Thats why rates don't stay fixed.

Lowering interest rates doesn't lead to lower prices, it does the opposite.... it makes money cheaper and easier for anyone to get. The more money people get, the less purchasing power that money has, which leads to higher prices (inflation). It has the same effect as if you were to print more money.

Its why the Fed raised the rates in the first place post-covid to combat inflation.

 

[panamaican]

He stated how lowering interest rates historically caused inflation and then suggested half the population is too stupid to understand. Lowering interest rates leads to lower prices, thus people spending more money. Supply and demand causes the price increase. This is how an economy functions. Thats why rates don't stay fixed.

Lowering interest rates causes inflation because "supply and demand". Specifically, lowering the interest rate makes borrowing easier thus increasing the money supply. When you increase the money supply, you run the risk of devaluing the value of that money. So, the same money buys fewer goods because the money itself is worth less. That's inflation.

It's not just goods and services, money itself is affected by supply and demand and thus the value of that money.

Rates don't stay fixed because there's a balance between making money easily available to fuel growth vs. the negatives of devaluing that money.

That is how the economy works. It's why the fed is independent. Administrations might want to manipulate interest rates to facilitate objectives that benefit their administration without consideration for how it affects the economy after they leave. They might want to juice short term growth to court businesses. They might want to tighten the money supply so they can claim to have kept inflation low but it comes at the expense of business investment. Administrations are rarely thinking far enough in the future.

 

[panamaican]

Lowering interest rates doesn't lead to lower prices, it does the opposite.... it makes money cheaper and easier for anyone to get. The more money people get, the less purchasing power that money has, which leads to higher prices (inflation). It has the same effect as if you were to print more money.

Its why the Fed raised the rates in the first place post-covid to combat inflation.

I just typed something similar. It's crazy that people don't understand that but want to pontificate on this very complicated subject.

 

[Rational Poster]

Lowering interest rates causes inflation because "supply and demand". Specifically, lowering the interest rate makes borrowing easier thus increasing the money supply. When you increase the money supply, you run the risk of devaluing the value of that money. So, the same money buys fewer goods because the money itself is worth less. That's inflation.

It's not just goods and services, money itself is affected by supply and demand and thus the value of that money.

Rates don't stay fixed because there's a balance between making money easily available to fuel growth vs. the negatives of devaluing that money.

That is how the economy works. It's why the fed is independent. Administrations might want to manipulate interest rates to facilitate objectives that benefit their administration without consideration for how it affects the economy after they leave. They might want to juice short term growth to court businesses. They might want to tighten the money supply so they can claim to have kept inflation low but it comes at the expense of business investment. Administrations are rarely thinking far enough in the future.

I would just add to this, that the printing and borrowing of money doesn't de-value the currency so directly.

More specifically, more and cheaper money in circulation increases purchasing competition for limited supplies and services. Prices go up not necessarily because the dollars are worth less, but because everyone, and especially the wealthiest corporations and consumers, have more money to compete with and there are more competitors in general. So prices go up from competition, and the competitors can bear the cost increases because they have the liquid and potential to acquire more, and then prices go up again, and repeat.

 

[panamaican]

I would just add to this, that the printing and borrowing of money doesn't de-value the currency so directly.

More specifically, more and cheaper money in circulation increases purchasing competition for limited supplies and services. Prices go up not necessarily because the dollars are worth less, but because everyone, and especially the wealthiest corporations and consumers, have more money to compete with and there are more competitors in general. So prices go up from competition, and the competitors can bear the cost increases because they have the liquid and potential to acquire more, and then prices go up again, and repeat.

I wanted to include that but I feared it would go over his head.

 

[nostradumbass]

Do you have proof of that highlighted above? would love to see your source for this

Black Law Students Bottom 10%​

Approximately 50 percent of Black law students are placed in the bottom tenth of their law school classes, a statistic that has been consistently reported in studies and analyses. This trend is often linked to the impact of race-based admissions policies, with critics arguing that such policies may place students in academic environments where they are less likely to succeed. The data suggests that this academic challenge is not isolated, as Black law students also face higher dropout rates and lower bar exam passage rates compared to their peers.



It's been true for several decades.

https://www.usccr.gov/files/pubs/docs/AALSreport.pdf

 

[Shidlord]

​

​

​

​

Black Law Students Bottom 10%​

Approximately 50 percent of Black law students are placed in the bottom tenth of their law school classes, a statistic that has been consistently reported in studies and analyses. This trend is often linked to the impact of race-based admissions policies, with critics arguing that such policies may place students in academic environments where they are less likely to succeed. The data suggests that this academic challenge is not isolated, as Black law students also face higher dropout rates and lower bar exam passage rates compared to their peers.



It's been true for several decades.

https://www.usccr.gov/files/pubs/docs/AALSreport.pdf

questions and flaws)

1) the date of this report was 2006, nearly 20 years ago. How is this relevant? The legal, educational, and social landscape has shifted dramatically since the report’s release.
2) it does not isolate black women
3) The report cites bar failure and dropout rates but doesn’t contextualize them with socioeconomic data, undergraduate preparation, or support structures.
4) It omits comparative data on white students with similar credentials, which could reveal whether outcomes are due to mismatch or broader systemic issues.
4) Much of the analysis is based on testimony and selective studies rather than comprehensive, peer-reviewed data.

 

[nostradumbass]

Her being black isn't the first thin mentioned on her wiki page though

Lisa Cook

Lisa DeNell Cook (born 1964) is an American economist who was sworn in as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2022

And even if it were the only thing that would be relevant to this conversation would be that it triggered you .

You can't even argue she wasn't extremely qualified for the position, it appears you see a black person in a prominent position and automatically assume the only reason they got there was because a more qualified white person was passed over .

Are you aware she won the Truman scholarship and the Marshall scholarship or did you not read that far down her wiki page ?

Impressive, two very prestigious scholarships

Those were 84 and 86 , were they dei too ?

Lol, why didn't you paste the whole first paragraph instead of just the sentence giving her name? Oh, I know why, because this is the very next sentence of the 1st paragraph before any distinguishing claims or accomplishments, and also the first thing mentioned after her job title in most of the articles about her.

She is the first Black woman to sit on the Board.


Since she's so "incredibly qualified" according to you, she should have no problem finding another job after getting shitcanned for mortgage fraud.

 

[nostradumbass]

questions and flaws)

1) the date of this report was 2006, nearly 20 years ago. How is this relevant? The legal, educational, and social landscape has shifted dramatically since the report’s release.
2) it does not isolate black women
3) The report cites bar failure and dropout rates but doesn’t contextualize them with socioeconomic data, undergraduate preparation, or support structures.
4) It omits comparative data on white students with similar credentials, which could reveal whether outcomes are due to mismatch or broader systemic issues.
4) Much of the analysis is based on testimony and selective studies rather than comprehensive, peer-reviewed data.

Great, you asked for a source, I gave it to you, and instead of providing anything that says otherwise, you scramble for excuses and attempts to move goalposts.

I don't care about their "socioeconomic" excuses. They aren't hiring or admitting white people of "similar socioeconomic status" for their skin color, so it's not relevant to anything.