President Donald Trump accused a Federal Reserve governor of mortgage fraud over a practice so common that some of his own Cabinet members have done it.
Trump fired Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve as Fed governor, over the “deceitful and potentially criminal” act of claiming more than one primary residence on mortgages. The termination, part of the administration’s pressure campaign to force the Fed to lower interest rates, set the stage for a fresh legal battle.
But it turns out Trump’s own officials know a thing or two about having multiple primary residences.
ProPublica found that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer have multiple primary residences after examining financial disclosure forms, county real estate records, and publicly available mortgage data.
All three officials denied any wrongdoing and the White House accused the nonprofit news publication of cooking up “just another hit piece.”
“Unlike Lisa ‘Corrupt’ Cook who blatantly and intentionally committed mortgage fraud, Secretary DeRemer, Secretary Duffy, and Administrator Zeldin own multiple residences, and they have followed the law and they are fully compliant with all ethical obligations,” the statement read.
Duffy and his wife, Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, have primary residence mortgages in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., according to ProPublica. The Far Hills, New Jersey, residence was purchased in 2021 and the D.C. home was acquired in February.
A spokesperson for Duffy told the outlet that both mortgages are held by the same bank, which was “fully informed” of the transportation secretary’s new employment. A White House spokesperson added that “the bank, not the secretary, determined and classified both mortgages as primary residences.”
Zeldin also has primary residence mortgages in Long Island and D.C., according to loan records reviewed by ProPublica. The Shirley, New York home was obtained in 2007 and the D.C. house, close to EPA headquarters, was purchased last year.
“Administrator Zeldin followed ALL steps to complete the move in accordance with all laws, rules, and contracts, notifying his mortgage company, insurance company, and local government,” an EPA spokesperson told the publication. “EVERY ‘I’ was dotted and ‘t’ was crossed 1000% by the book without exception.”
Chavez-DeRemer and her husband Shawn started two primary residence mortgages in 2021: one in Oregon’s Happy Valley and another in Arizona’s Fountain Hills. Spokesperson Courtney Parella told ProPublica that the couple purchased the Arizona home with the intent to retire there, but the labor secretary later decided to run for Congress in Oregon. Her husband, meanwhile, continued to pursue residency in Arizona, a White House official said.
“This is nothing more than a left-wing rag inventing a story just to attack the Trump Administration,” Parella said. “It’s common for families to refinance then buy a home with future plans in mind—trying to spin that as some type of scandal is pure nonsense.”
Trump has used mortgage fraud allegations against Cook, first floated by Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte, to justify her unprecedented termination “for cause.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Cook, but she’s determined to put up a fight.
“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” Cook told The New York Times. “I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”
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