From the New York Times: Trump, in a Move With Little Precedent, Says He Is Firing a Fed Governor

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President Trump said on Monday that he was taking the extraordinary step of removing Lisa Cook from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, in a legally dubious maneuver that could undermine the independence of the nation’s central bank.

Mr. Trump justified the firing, which he said was effective immediately, by pointing to allegations that Ms. Cook may have falsified records to obtain favorable terms on a mortgage. But Ms. Cook and her lawyer vowed to fight her dismissal, maintaining that the president did not have the grounds to oust her.

Ms. Cook has not been charged with wrongdoing or convicted of a crime. In the days before Mr. Trump attempted to remove her, the president had made no secret about his desire to remake the roster of the Fed, as he savaged its members, including Jerome H. Powell, the chair, for keeping interest rates too high.

By targeting Ms. Cook, Mr. Trump appeared to set the stage for a landmark battle that could define the limits of his power over the Fed. Many legal experts raised serious concerns late Monday with the manner of Ms. Cook’s dismissal, and the president’s justification for doing so, as they warned that Mr. Trump’s intervention could compromise an institution at the heart of the economy with damaging results.

In response: Lisa Cook Says She Will Not Step Down From the Fed Board.

Lisa Cook said that she would not step down from the Federal Reserve, hours after President Trump said that he was taking the extraordinary step of removing her from the central bank’s Board of Governors.

Mr. Trump announced the firing, which he said was effective immediately, earlier on Monday. He cited allegations that Ms. Cook may have falsified records in order to obtain favorable terms on a mortgage, even though she has not been charged with wrongdoing or convicted of a crime.

In a statement released through her lawyer on Monday evening, Ms. Cook said that “no cause exists under the law” for Mr. Trump to fire her.

“I will not resign,” she said. “I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”

Her lawyer, Abbe David Lowell, added: “We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action.”

Ms. Cook was initially appointed to the Board of Governors to fill an unexpired term. She was reappointed in 2023, and her full term is set to end in January 2038.

To fire Ms. Cook, Mr. Trump invoked a power in the Fed’s founding statute that allows him to remove members of the board with cause. He justified the maneuver, a legally dubious one that could undermine the independence of the central bank, by claiming that the allegations of mortgage fraud compromised Ms. Cook’s ability to perform as an effective financial regulator.

Mr. Trump has made no secret about his desire to remake the roster of the Federal Reserve, relentlessly attacking the central bank and its members in the hopes they will lower borrowing costs.

Until recently, he was focused on Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair. But his attention recently turned to Ms. Cook. Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, last week accused her of falsifying records to obtain more favorable terms on mortgages, and said the agency had referred the issue to the Justice Department.