President Donald Trump on Aug. 25 published a letter saying that he has fired Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, from her position.
Members of the board, who are appointed by the U.S. president with the advice and consent of the Senate, serve 14-year terms, and normally cannot be removed except “for cause.”
In his letter to Cook, posted on Truth Social, Trump said that there was cause to remove Cook because of a criminal referral related to alleged false statements on mortgage documents.
“In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, [the American people] cannot and I do not have such confidence in your integrity,” wrote Trump in the letter.
Following Trump’s announcement, Cook said she will not resign and will continue to carry out her duties. “President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” she said in a statement.
Her lawyer Abbe David Lowell said Trump’s demands lacked proper process, basis, or legal authority, and “we will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action.”
The Federal Reserve did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cook had been the focus of Trump’s public scrutiny previously, and he had threatened her with termination if she did not resign. The criminal referral of Cook’s alleged mortgage fraud began when the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, William Pulte, sent a letter on Aug. 15 accusing her of the offense and seeking a Department of Justice investigation.
“I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign,” Trump told reporters on Aug. 22, during a visit to “The People’s House,” a White House Historical Association-run museum adjacent to the White House Complex.
Cook was appointed to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors by President Joe Biden in May of 2022, and was the first African-American woman to serve on the Board. She previously worked as a professor of economics at Michigan State University and in the administration of President Barack Obama, serving as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers.
Republicans have long opposed Cook, with GOP members of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in 2022 describing her as taking “extreme left-wing positions,” citing her past social media posts in support of progressive political causes. No Republican senator voted for her confirmation in 2022.
The president’s action is the latest episode in the ongoing tension between the president and the Federal Reserve. Its chairman, Jerome Powell, has been the subject of Trump’s public criticism for many weeks amid the president’s insistence that the central bank lower interest rates to stimulate the U.S. economy.
“Could somebody please inform Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell that he is hurting the Housing Industry, very badly? People can’t get a Mortgage because of him. There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut,” wrote Trump on Aug. 19, using a nickname he coined for Powell to attack him for not lowering interest rates quickly.
Trump said Powell should lower interest rates substantially and immediately.
“IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!” wrote the president on Aug. 1, suggesting that the Board of Governors should overrule Powell and vote for a rate reduction. Historically, the chairman of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors has been granted wide deference by other members of the body.
Trump has also criticized the Federal Reserve for ongoing renovations to its headquarters in Washington, D.C., which he said have been over-budget. On July 24, the president visited the facility under renovation with Powell alongside him, and criticized the agency for the cost. Powell, in that interaction, disputed the claim.
Trump has appointed three of the board’s six incumbent governors. Apart from Powell—whom he nominated, appointed, and designated as chairman in 2018 before the multi-year policy dispute began—Trump appointed the Board’s Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and member Christopher Waller during his first term.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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