President Donald Trump announced that he is removing Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve Board Governor, from her position.
In the letter addressed to Cook that was posted on social media Monday night, Trump said there was “sufficient evidence” that Cook made false statements in mortgage agreements in a referral made by Trump’s Federal Housing Finance Agency to the Department of Justice to remove her from her role.
“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,” the letter said.
“I have determined that faithfully executing the law requires your immediate removal from office,” Trump closed the letter.
In response, Cook released a statement saying Trump “has no authority” to fire her and that she will “continue to carry out my duties.”
“I will not resign,” she said.
Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, also indicated legal action is coming, saying they will take “whatever actions are necessary” in order to block what they describe as Trump’s “attempted illegal action.”
ABC News has reached out to the Federal Reserve for comment.
Last week, Trump called on Cook to resign on the same day that Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted on X part of an Aug. 15 letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi accusing Cook of falsifying bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, “potentially committing mortgage fraud,” the letter stated.
In a statement provided to ABC News last week, Cook said she learned from the media about Pulte’s letter seeking a criminal referral over the mortgage application, which predated her time with the Federal Reserve.
“I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook said in the statement last week. “I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”
Cook was nominated to serve on the board of governors in 2022 by former President Joe Biden. Her term runs until January 2038. Cook is the first Black woman in history to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
