In a letter posted to Truth Social yesterday, President Donald Trump informed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook that he is firing her immediately, based on the charge made by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who publicly accused Cook of mortgage fraud on Aug. 20 and sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department. The demand for Cook’s resignation is clearly another attempt by Trump to take control of the Federal Reserve, whose Governor Jerome Powell has resisted his demand to lower interest rates.
Trump claims he can fire Cook, a Biden appointee, for “cause,” claiming, as Pulte did, that in the space of two weeks, Cook falsely named two separate properties, one in Michigan and one in Georgia, as her primary residence. After this fact became known, Trump first used social media to demand Cook’s resignation. She refused. In a statement released yesterday in response to his letter, she said: “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. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022,” CNBC reported her saying.
