Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook told a lender in May 2021 that an Atlanta property was a “vacation home,” according to a loan estimate and other records reviewed by Reuters, a development that undercuts the Trump administration’s contention that she improperly listed two houses as her primary residence.
The May 28, 2021 loan estimate, prepared by Washington-based Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union, lists “Property Use: Vacation Home.” The document, produced in the weeks before Cook completed the Atlanta purchase, indicates she told the lender the property would not be her principal residence. Reuters reviewed the loan estimate as well as court filings in Georgia’s Fulton County that include standardized mortgage paperwork with a primary-residence stipulation that is qualified by a clause saying the rule applies “unless Lender otherwise agrees in writing.”
The loan estimate appears to contradict other mortgage and security-clearance documents that Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte and other administration officials cited in accusing Cook of mortgage fraud. Pulte used mortgage documents from Cook’s Atlanta and Ann Arbor, Michigan, properties to assert that she had claimed both as her “primary residence,” a designation that can affect mortgage terms and tax treatment. Pulte referred the matter to the Department of Justice, and President Donald Trump ordered her dismissal; Cook has sued to resist removal.
Cook, who remains a Fed governor, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing related to her properties, which also include a home in Ann Arbor and an investment property in Massachusetts. Reuters was unable to reach Cook for comment on the newly reviewed loan estimate. Spokespeople for the FHFA and for Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union did not respond to requests for comment.
In addition to the 2021 loan estimate, a supplement to the federal national security clearance form SF-86 completed by Cook shows a December 2021 declaration that the Atlanta property was a “2nd home,” a description consistent with the credit-union loan summary but unrelated to the mortgage application. Fulton County property records and a county tax official show Cook did not apply for a homestead tax exemption for the Georgia house, which is typically filed by owners who designate a property as their primary residence.
Two independent real-estate experts consulted by Reuters said the credit-union loan summary — on which the lender explicitly recorded the property as a vacation home — could help Cook’s legal defense by documenting her stated intent during the loan process. The documents cited by Pulte include federal mortgage forms that generally mark loans for a borrower’s “primary residence,” but the Fulton County filing and the loan estimate indicate the lender had discretion to accept a different designation.
The dispute over Cook’s residences is unfolding against a broader political backdrop in which the Trump administration has sought greater influence over the Federal Reserve. Trump has criticized Fed governors for resisting interest-rate cuts and has publicly clashed with officials at the central bank, which is designed to operate independently of partisan control. The controversy has prompted scrutiny of the personal finances of other officials and their families; Reuters reported last week that Pulte’s father and stepmother had declared residences in two different states as primary, resulting in a local tax authority revoking a tax exemption and seeking back taxes.
Legal proceedings initiated by Cook to block her removal are ongoing, and the new loan estimate will likely figure in arguments about whether she misrepresented her residency for mortgage or tax advantages. The FHFA referral to the Justice Department has not produced public charges, and federal prosecutors have not commented publicly on the status of any investigation related to Cook.