Fed Governor Defies Trump, Refuses To Step Down After He Says ‘You’re Fired’

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook vowed Monday evening that she would not resign, only hours after President Donald Trump declared he was removing her from the central bank’s Board of Governors, The New York Times reported.

Trump announced the decision on Monday, saying the firing was effective immediately and citing allegations that Cook falsified documents to obtain favorable mortgage terms. Cook has not been charged with a crime, but Trump argued that the accusations call her credibility into question and justify her removal.

Cook, however, insists that “no cause exists under the law” for Trump to push her out.

“I will not resign,” Cook said in a statement issued through her attorney, according to the NYT. “I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”

Cook’s attorney called Trump’s move “illegal” and vowed to “take whatever actions are needed,” according to the outlet.

Trump first called for Cook’s resignation last Wednesday after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said he would refer her to the Department of Justice over allegations that Cook signed documents claiming residency in two different states. In a letter to Cook posted on X, the president stated that he was exercising his authority under the Federal Reserve Act, which allows presidents to remove members of the board with cause.

“The Federal Reserve has tremendous responsibility for setting interest rates and regulating reserve and member banks. 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,” Trump wrote. “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. 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.”

Cook was nominated to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2022 by former President Joe Biden, becoming the first Black woman to hold the position. She was reappointed last year, and her term is set to expire in 2038.

Tensions between Trump and the Federal Reserve have been rising in recent months, with Trump repeatedly calling for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates and previously suggesting that he should resign.

Neither Cook nor the White House immediately responded to the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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