President Donald Trump on Monday fired, Lisa Cook, Federal Reserve Board governor. Photo by Angelina Katsanis/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump on Monday fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook as he continues to feud with her boss over lowering interest rates.
The legality of Cooks’ firing was unclear, and has prompted Democrats to accuse the Republican president of perpetrating an “illegal authoritarian power grab.”
Trump informed Cook of her dismissal in a letter he made public on his Truth Social platform, informing the first Black woman to sit on the Reserve Board that he has “determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position” over allegations of making false statements on mortgage agreements.
“In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot and I do not have such confidence in your integrity,” Trump said in the letter.
Trump fired Cook following months of applying political pressure on her boss, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, to lower interest rates. Amid the insults and demands Trump has made of Powell, the Trump-nominated chair from his first administration has stated economic policy will not be influenced by politics.
On Aug. 15, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, a Powell critic, sent a criminal referral for Cook to Attorney General Pam Bondi, accusing Cook of falsifying documents as well as mortgage, bank and wire fraud for signing mortgage documents. She is accused of signing two separate mortgage documents for two separate properties that claim each is her primary residence. One property is in Michigan and the other is in Atlanta. The two documents were allegedly signed two weeks apart during the summer of 2021.
After Pulte made the criminal referral public, Trump called for Cook to resign, which she did not do.
In his Monday letter, Trump cited the allegations against Cook, saying her signing of both mortgage documents “exhibits the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”
Cook was fired under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which stipulates that the president may only remove members of the board for cause.
“The illegal attempt to fire Lisa Cook is the latest example of a desperate president searching for a scapegoat to cover for his own failure to lower costs for Americans,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, ranking member of the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said in a statement.
“It’s an authoritarian power grab that blatantly violates the Federal Reserve Act, and must be overturned in court.”
Pulte on Monday night thanked Trump for his “commitment to stopping mortgage fraud” by firing Cook.
“Fraud will not be tolerated in President Trump’s housing market,” he said on X.
Trump campaigned on using the office of the presidency to retaliate against his political rivals. Since returning to the White House in January, he has used his executive powers to strip security clearances from perceived political rivals, including lawyers who prosecuted his criminal cases, as well as law firms and former security officials.
Along with Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff of California have also been accused of mortgage fraud.
Early this month, Trump has also fired Erika McEntarfer, the Senate-confirmed head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after job growth was slower than expected, claiming the numbers were inaccurate. Democrats and critics accused Trump of dangerously politicizing economic data.
Cooks’ firing is expected to be challenged in court, but her vacancy permits Trump to nominate a replacement.
Following Cooks’ firing on Monday, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., described Trump’s move as “reckless” and clearly unlawful.”
“The Federal Reserve Act permits removal only for cause, serious misconduct, not partisan smears dressed as ‘referrals’ from a hack like Ed Martin,” Nadler said in a statement. Martin has been tapped to be the special attorney on mortgage fraud cases.
“Trump undermining the Fed for political reasons endangers financial stability and every American’s livelihood, and must be challenged in court immediately.”
