Trump Vows to Oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook ‘Sufficient Cause to Remove You’
Trump Vows to Oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook: ‘Sufficient Cause to Remove You’
Donald Trump – Lisa Cook – Fed governor removal – President Trump said late Monday he has removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, following through on a threat to oust her if she refused to resign. The decision comes after members of his administration alleged Cook engaged in mortgage fraud related to the purchase of two properties earlier this decade.
“You are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately,” the president wrote in a letter addressed to Cook and shared on social media. “I have determined there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position.”
Trump said Cook made conflicting declarations about her primary residence, first claiming a Michigan property would serve as her main home, then signing a separate agreement two weeks later stating the same about a Georgia property. He argued it was “inconceivable” she was unaware of the initial pledge and “impossible” she intended to honor both.
“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,” Trump wrote. “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.”
President Donald Trump holds up a signed proclamation honoring the fourth anniversary of the attack at Abbey Gate, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) · ASSOCIATED PRESS
The president had been pressing for Cook’s resignation since last week. “Cook must resign, now!!!” he wrote Aug. 20 on his social media platform, Truth Social. The president linked to a Bloomberg report about a letter sent by Federal Housing Finance Agency head Bill Pulte urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Cook over a pair of mortgages.
In response, Cook said in a statement, “I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet. 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.”
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Board of Governors member Lisa Cook, right, listen during an open meeting of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve, June 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) · ASSOCIATED PRESS
The pressure from Trump on the central banker came as Powell spoke at Jackson Hole, Wyo., in a key policy speech that appeared to open the door for a September interest rate cut.
Pulte wrote in a letter dated Aug. 15 that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.”
The Financial Times reported Thursday that the Department of Justice sent Fed Chair Jerome Powell a letter calling on the chair to remove Cook from her post.
The president’s decision to Cook comes amid ongoing changes on the Fed’s Board of Governors.
Earlier this month, Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran to the Fed board to fill a seat left empty by Adriana Kugler, who stepped down from the board on Aug. 8. With Cook’s ousting, Trump now has the opportunity to nominate another Fed governor.
The search for a replacement for Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term leading the central bank ends in May 2026, also continues in the background. Trump said recently that the field of possible replacements for Powell was “down to three or four” candidates.”
Trump has repeatedly called on Powell to cut rates more aggressively, coining the nickname “Too Late” for the Fed chair. Trump first appointed Powell to the role in 2017; former President Joe Biden renominated Powell as Fed chair in 2021.
The president has also targeted the central bank’s $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters as a “sort of” fireable offense for the Fed chair. Trump and Powell met at the renovation site in late July as Trump once again called for Powell to lower interest rates.
Powell is also a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, and his term expires in 2028. It isn’t clear whether Powell will also vacate that post when his term as Fed chair ends next year.
