The allegations center on what is known as mortgage occupancy fraud, or when a borrower says they plan to use a property as a primary residence, even though it is a second home or an investment. A Trump housing official claimed on social media that Cook designated two properties as her primary residences, in papers submitted 14 days apart.

Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Fed's board, said that Trump has no authority fire her and her lawyer said that they would file a lawsuit challenging "this illegal action."

In a now-infamous July 2019 phone call, Trump attempted to pressure Ukraine’s then-newly-elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky, into making baseless accusations of corruption against Biden and his son, attorney and lobbyist Hunter Biden, based on the latter’s work on the board of a Ukrainian energy firm called Burisma.