President Trump said Monday he is removing Lisa Cook from her position as a governor on the Federal Reserve board, saying there is “sufficient reason” to believe she made false statements on personal mortgage documents.
Mr. Trump said the Constitution and Federal Reserve Act of 1913 allow him to remove governors “for cause,” although the firing will likely spark a legal battle that could reach the Supreme Court.
“I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position,” Mr. Trump wrote in a letter to Ms. Cook.
Mr. Trump is following through on a recent threat to fire Ms. Cook over documents dug up by Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Mr. Pulte pointed to 2021 documents that showed Ms. Cook listed a Michigan property as her intended primary residence and then, shortly after, listed a Georgia property as her primary residence.
“It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second. It is impossible that you intended to honor both,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Pulte celebrated the firing in an FHFA statement posted on his X account.
“Thank you President Trump for your commitment to stopping mortgage fraud and following the law,” he wrote. “If you commit mortgage fraud in America, we will come after you, no matter who you are.”
Mr. Trump’s move to oust Ms. Cook coincides with his attempts to cajole the Fed into lowering interest rates.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other central bankers have resisted, citing the potential for price inflation under Mr. Trump’s new tariffs. However, Mr. Powell strongly hinted that a rate cut is coming in September, saying a slowing labor market could warrant a policy adjustment.
Mr. Trump has urged Mr. Powell to resign, calling him “too late” with his decisions, and the Senate is considering a Trump appointee to fill a vacancy on the Fed board.
Ms. Cook is the first Black woman to sit on the Fed’s Board of Governors. President Biden nominated her to the board in 2022.
Her removal would leave Fed Governor Michael Barr and Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson as the only Democratic appointees on the seven-person board.
“The American people must be able to have full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve,” Mr. Trump wrote to Ms. Cook. “At a minimum, the conduct at issue exhibits the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”
Earlier, Ms. Cook said she would not be “bullied” out of her position and planned to clear up the situation around her mortgage documents.
The Washington Times reached out to the Fed for comment on Mr. Trump’s firing decision.