Trump orders removal of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook » Capital News
US President Donald Trump has said he will immediately remove Federal Reserve official Lisa Cook from her position, a major escalation in his battle against the US central bank.
He said there was “sufficient reason” to believe Cook had made false statements on mortgage agreements, and cited constitutional powers which he said allowed him to remove her.
In response, Cook has said Trump has no authority to fire her and she will not resign.
It is an unprecedented move for the president to dismiss a member of the central bank’s leadership, and comes as Trump has put increasing pressure on the Fed – especially its chair Jerome Powell – over what he sees as an unwillingness to lower interest rates.
Cook is one of seven members of the Fed’s board of governors, and in this position sits on the 12-member committee which is responsible for setting interest rates in the US.
She was appointed by Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, in 2022 and is the first African American woman to serve in the role.
Trump’s decision to remove Cook will likely raise legal questions, with experts suggesting the White House will need to demonstrate – potentially in court – that it had sufficient reason to fire her.
“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” Cook said in a statement.
“I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022,” she added.
“We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent [Trump’s] attempted illegal action,” Cook’s lawyer, Abbe David Lowell, said.
The Federal Reserve has not yet commented on the president’s announcement, which he made late on Monday via his social media platform Truth Social.
He posted a letter addressed to Cook in which he informed her of his decision to remove her from the bank’s board of governors with immediate effect.
Trump has also repeatedly floated the possibility of firing Powell.