Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent alleged Wednesday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) that referred Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has recently been “politicizing” the central bank by supporting its embattled governor.
Bessent criticized Powell for reportedly planning to be present at a Wednesday Supreme Court hearing on President Donald Trump’s attempt to oust Fed Gov. Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations, calling the move “a political statement,” Barrons reported, citing Agence France Presse (AFP). Bessent’s comments come after the Department of Justice (DOJ) opened a criminal investigation into Powell earlier in January.
“I am not sure why Chair Powell would go and support Governor Cook when the Fed has not undertaken an examination of whether she did in fact commit mortgage fraud,” Bessent told reporters Wednesday from USA House at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland.
“The Fed should not be politicized. He is politicizing the Fed,” he emphasized.
The Federal Reserve declined to comment to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In August 2025, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte alleged in a post to X that Cook had committed mortgage fraud “by designating her out of state condo as her primary residence, just two weeks after taking a loan on her Michigan home where she also declared it as her primary residence.” Pulte also announced in the social media post that his agency had sent a criminal referral to the DOJ over the mortgage fraud allegations against Cook.
Pulte wrote in a Sept. 2, 2025 X post that “the damage currently being done to the integrity of the Federal Reserve” by Cook and Powell “cannot be overstated.”
Cook’s lawyers notably sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi in November 2025 denying allegations that she had committed any mortgage fraud, PBS News reported.
“There is no fraud, no intent to deceive, nothing whatsoever criminal or remotely a basis to allege mortgage fraud,” the letter states, the outlet reported.
In July 2025, Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna referred Powell to the DOJ over allegations that the Fed chairman had lied to the Senate Banking Committee about renovations to the Fed’s Washington, D.C. headquarters in June. However, Powell claimed in a video statement released on Sunday that Trump was attempting to “manipulate” the Central Bank through the criminal perjury investigation.
“I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,” Powell said on Sunday.
“This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,” Powell continued. “It is not about Congress’s oversight role; the Fed, through testimony and other public disclosures, made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts.”
Trump has repeatedly called for Powell to sharply lower interest rates in recent months. Powell’s term as Fed chair is set to expire in May 2026.
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