Rep. Ro Khanna says Trump is following Nixon’s playbook to ‘interfere’ with the Federal Reserve
WASHINGTON — Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said that Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook should release her mortgage documents but accused President Donald Trump of “following Richard Nixon’s playbook to interfere with” the Federal Reserve.
Khanna’s comments in a Sunday interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” come after Trump moved to fire Cook on Monday, pointing to allegations of mortgage fraud. Cook is challenging the move in a lawsuit.
The lawmaker was referring to President Richard Nixon pressuring the then-Fed chair to keep interest rates lower before the 1972 election, which Nixon won before resigning two years later because of the Watergate scandal.
Decades later, Trump’s attempt to fire Cook marked an extraordinary move to exert control over an independent agency, a move that Democrats have painted as “authoritarian” and a “power grab,” while Trump accused Cook of “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct.”
“She should be transparent,” Khanna said, responding to a question about whether Cook should release her mortgage documents to dispute the allegations. “But this has nothing to do with the specifics of Lisa Cook. This has to do with Donald Trump following Richard Nixon’s playbook to interfere with the Fed and bully the Fed.”
He argued that Trump’s tariff policies were standing in the way of the Federal Reserve lowering rates, as Trump has pushed for.
“The irony is that it’s his own policies that have created the situation,” Khanna said. “If he just repealed the blanket tariffs, he wouldn’t be putting the inflationary pressure that exists, and the Fed would be able to cut rates.”
Asked again whether Cook should release her mortgage documents to combat allegations of fraud, Khanna agreed.
“Well, sure she should release them,” Khanna said. “She’s should be transparent so that we see that this is just a political football.”
Cook sued Trump on Thursday, arguing his attempt to fire her was “unlawful and void.” Lawyers for Cook and the White House appeared before a judge one day later, though the judge ultimately did not rule on Cook’s request for a temporary restraining order to prevent her from being fired while the case proceeds.
The president has been vocally pushing for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, frequently berating Chair Jerome Powell. The Federal Reserve is set to meet in September to determine whether to lower interest rates.
Trump’s criticism of Cook began after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte filed a criminal referral against Cook, accusing her of putting false information on mortgage applications before joining the Fed. Pulte filed a second criminal referral last week, accusing her of misrepresenting another property on a mortgage document. Cook’s lawyer hit back, calling the referral “an obvious smear campaign.”
Khanna’s comments come days before Congress is set to return from August recess, gearing up for another high-stakes showdown over files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., are co-sponsoring a bill to make the Trump administration release “all unclassified records” on Epstein. The fight over Epstein roiled Congress so forcefully this summer that House Speaker Mike Johnson began summer recess one day early after Democrats planned to force votes related to Epstein.
The bipartisan duo also plans to host a press conference on Wednesday with “survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s abuse,” according to the press release.
Khanna said Sunday that he is “very confident” his and Massie’s bill will pass. The congressman said that the Wednesday press conference “will be explosive,” adding that “many” of the speakers have not spoken publicly about their experiences before.
“They will be telling their story, and they will be saying clearly to the American public that they want the release of the Epstein files for full closure on this matter,” Khanna said.