Federal Reserve Governor Cook Rebuffs Trump’s Effort to Remove Her, Cites Lack of Legal Grounds

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook forcefully disputed the Trump administration’s authority to oust her from the central bank’s board in correspondence delivered Wednesday evening. The rebuttal came after White House officials had set a deadline earlier in the month for Cook to respond to fresh removal threats, marking the second attempt by Trump to engineer her departure within a year.

Trump’s original push to terminate Cook centered on allegations of mortgage fraud, which the governor has consistently denied. The matter remains unresolved in court, and no charges have been filed. Last year, the Supreme Court determined that Cook could retain her position during litigation, though it signaled Trump could pursue removal again if he provided proper procedural notice and permitted her to mount a defense.

Cook’s legal team, represented by attorneys Abbe Lowell and Norman Eisen, argued in a statement that the administration’s case lacks merit. They contended that any unintentional mistakes on mortgage applications do not constitute fraud and noted that other high-ranking government officials, including the president himself, had committed similar documentation errors.

The core dispute involves Cook’s designation of two properties as primary residences on mortgage applications. Cook clarified Wednesday that she had labeled one property a “vacation home” on certain documents and had made no attempt to mislead lenders, characterizing any discrepancies as inadvertent oversights insufficient to warrant removal from office.

Successfully removing Cook would grant Trump the opportunity to appoint a successor, tilting the Fed’s board toward his appointees. The president has repeatedly criticized the Federal Reserve for maintaining higher interest rates than he believes appropriate for economic conditions.