President Donald Trump has taken his feud with the Federal Reserve Board to a new level, announcing that he is firing board member Lisa Cook, the first Black woman appointed to serve as a governor of the nation’s top monetary board. The move comes after the Trump administration accused Cook of mortgage fraud and urged her to resign. Many have seen the accusations as politically motivated, as part of Trump’s policy clashes with the Fed, and Cook has pledged that she will not be “bullied” out of her position.
Trump claims he has fired Fed member Lisa Cook over mortgage allegation
Trump announced on social media Monday evening that he was firing Federal Reserve Board governor Lisa Cook. “I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position,” Trump said in the posted letter addressed to Cook. Trump’s letter referred to an accusation made earlier this month by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who was appointed to his position by Trump. Pulte accused Cook of mortgage fraud, alleging that Cook listed two different properties, one in Michigan and one in Georgia, as her primary residence in 2021 in order to get favorable mortgage terms. Pulte said that he was referring Cook to Attorney General Pam Bondi, another Trump appointee who many view as carrying out the president’s agenda rather than acting independently. Pulte denied having partisan motivations behind his accusations but urged Cook to resign. Trump also called for Cook to resign over the allegations.
At the time of the initial accusation, Cook pushed back against the allegations and said that she would address any “legitimate questions” with detailed information about her financial records, but also stated, “I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet.” The Trump administration has made similar mortgage fraud allegations against other political opponents of the president, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff. Cook responded to her reported firing in a statement, saying, “President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so. I will not resign.”
Cook, a prominent economist, caught in Republican feud with Fed
Cook is a prominent economist specializing in international economics, with a focus on Russia’s economy as well as African American economic history. She studied at Spelman College, Oxford University and the University of California, Berkeley, and was a professor at Harvard University and Michigan State University. She was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve on the Federal Reserve Board and was confirmed by a party-line Senate vote, 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. Republicans have opposed Cook since her nomination; they have accused her of being “hyper-partisan” and referenced old tweets in the lead-up to her confirmation hearing. Cook’s appointment is scheduled to last until 2038.
Trump has clashed with the Federal Reserve Board, attempting to pressure the board to lower interest rates. Trump and Pulte have repeatedly taken shots at Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell, suggesting that he resign and even hinting that the president might fire Powell. However, the Federal Reserve Board is designed to operate independently of presidential approval. Board members can only be fired for “cause,” which experts say is a high bar to meet. As the Congressional Black Caucus noted in a statement defending Cook, “In the 111-year history of the Federal Reserve, no president has ever attempted to remove a governor of the central bank until now.” The CBC added, “President Trump is attempting to oust Dr. Lisa Cook — the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board — with no credible evidence of wrongdoing.”
Trump has a history of using his authority to go after political opponents, from making mortgage fraud allegations to sending federal troops to Black-governed cities. Now, Cook finds herself fighting for her position against a seemingly political and possibly illegal move by Trump to remove her from her post.
