Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook says she has no plans to step down despite former President Donald Trump’s attempt to remove her from the central bank’s board, and announced that she will challenge his action with a lawsuit.
Cook said in a statement on Tuesday: “President Trump claims he fired me ‘for cause,’ but no such cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to remove me. I will not resign.” She emphasized that she intends to continue fulfilling her responsibilities, adding “I remain committed to supporting the U.S. economy as I have done since 2022.”
President Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday night stating that he was removing Cook effective immediately, sharing a letter in which he wrote: “pursuant to my authority under Article II of the Constitution of the United States and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, as amended, you are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately.” The president cited a “criminal referral” from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, in which Pulte accused Cook of mortgage fraud. However under Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act, the president does have the power to remove a governor “for cause.”
Pulte, who has been publicly raising allegations against Cook for more than a week, released a statement through the housing department on Monday. He also thanked Trump on social media, writing, “If you commit mortgage fraud in America, we will come after you, no matter who you are.” Cook, however, has not been charged with any crime.
Cooke has since hired attorney Abbe Lowell, who strongly disputed Trump’s move, saying: “President Trump has no authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, This action, based only on a referral letter and without evidence, has no legal or factual foundation. We will be filing a lawsuit to block this unlawful attempt.”
Currently, two of the seven sitting Fed governors were appointed by Trump. With former Governor Adriana Kugler resigning earlier this month, Trump already has one vacancy to fill. If Cook were forced out or chose to resign, Trump would be able to name another replacement—potentially shifting the balance of the Fed’s leadership toward his economic priorities.
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