Lawyers vow to fight back as president cites 'significant cause' for dismissal
President Trump’s threats to oust Fed governor Lisa Cook over the past week, have resulted in her dismissal with the president claiming ‘sufficient cause’ for the action.
In a letter sent late Monday, Cook was told “you are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately.” The letter states the Federal Reserve Act as giving the president the power to remove board members at his discretion, although legal experts have questioned whether this can be done without a process to establish the facts and “cause” for dismissal.
Trump’s latest move follows allegations by FHFA leader Bill Pulte that Cook committed mortgage fraud by claiming two separate properties were her primary residence to secure more favorable terms on a second home.
Cook, a former economic advisor to President Obama, has denied any wrongdoing and supporters say the campaign against her is pure political play for Trump to gain greater control of the Fed, threatening its independence.
“Donald Trump is playing a dangerous game of Jenga with a key pillar of our economy,” said Chuck Schumer, leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus. “This brazen power grab must be stopped by the courts before Trump does permanent damage to national, state and local economies.”
Peter Conti-Brown, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, told the New York Times that we could see “the end of central bank independence as we know it” and that Trump could use the “formidable resources of the US government against our own central bank.”
Trump’s letter, published by the White House on its Rapid Response account on X, cites the mortgage fraud allegations against Cook and states that “The American People must be able to have full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve. 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.”
🚨 President Donald J. Trump relieves Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of her position pic.twitter.com/tJV8m4mlHW
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 26, 2025
Cook’s attorney is Abbe Lowell, who earlier this year founded his own law firm to defend officials and was formerly co-chair of the White Collar and Regulatory and Investigations practice group at Winston & Strawn.
Through Lowell, Cook vowed to fight back, saying “no cause exists under the law” for her removal from the Fed Board and that she will not resign but “continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”
The Associated Press reports that Lowell said Trump’s “reflex to bully is flawed and his demands lack any proper process, basis or legal authority. We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action.”
