Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who was dismissed by President Donald Trump on Monday, is planning to sue over her firing.
"President Trump has no authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook," Cook's attorney said in a statement obtained by Scripps News. "His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis. We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action.”
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In a letter addressed to Cook and posted on social media, President Trump said his decision to remove her from her position is in connection to allegations of mortgage fraud. The White House claims Cook committed fraud in 2021 when she purchased two properties.
"The Federal Reserve Act provides that you may be removed, at my discretion, for cause. See 12 U.S.C. § 242," President Trump wrote. "I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position."
“The executive power of the United States is vested to me as President and, as President, I have a solemn duty that the laws of the United States are faithfully enacted," he added. "I have determined that faithfully enacting the law requires your immediate removal from office.”
Cook has not been legally charged with any such fraud offense. She said at the time the allegations surfaced that she would not be "bullied" into resignation.
Cook suggested that she could stay on the Federal Reserve as she fights her dismissal.
"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. "I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, said in a statement Monday “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. It’s an authoritarian power grab that blatantly violates the Federal Reserve Act, and must be overturned in court.”
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The news of Cook's ouster comes as President Trump has maintained heavy pressure on the independent Federal Reserve and its Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.
The president has at times insulted Powell and threatened to remove him from his position. This month President Trump called Powell a "stubborn MORON" on social media and urged the rest of the Fed's Board of Governors to exert more control over Fed decisions.
At its most recent meeting, the Federal Reserve left the federal funds rate unchanged at a range of 4.25% to 4.50%, where it has remained since December 2024.
