“His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis. We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action,” said Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, in a statement to Reuters.
The announcement followed Trump’s social media post Monday claiming to dismiss Cook “for cause” over mortgage fraud allegations. Confirmed in 2022, Cook is the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s seven-member board.
Cook said she will not resign and will continue performing her duties. The Fed issued a statement affirming her status remains unchanged, noting governors serve 14-year terms designed to shield monetary policy from political influence.
“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” Cook said in a statement shared with CNN. “I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”
Supreme Court clash likely
The dispute could reach the Supreme Court, which has given presidents broad removal authority but has treated the Fed as a “uniquely structured” agency. “The firing of Lisa Cook ‘for cause’ may be pretextual but is not obviously illegal,” Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith said on social media. “The big question is how the markets react.”