Donald Trump thought he could push Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook out of her job. But, she’s refusing to go quietly.
On Monday night, Trump posted on social media that he had “fired” Cook. He accused her of mortgage fraud. But Cook quickly wasn’t going to sit silent. She hit back and said she has no plans to step down and is ready to fight.
“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. “I will not resign and will continue my work to support the U.S. economy, as I have since 2022.”
Her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, spoke up as well. “His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis,” Lowell said. “We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action.”
By attempting to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, Trump is once again threatening the independence of the Federal Reserve.
This move endangers the financial security of every American by risking destabilization of the dollar & our economy. Trump and his advisors should know better. pic.twitter.com/xjAbZs1GUy
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) August 26, 2025
In Trump’s letter, which he posted on Truth Social, he claimed he had “determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position.” He argued the Federal Reserve needed to be “above reproach.” He wrote, “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.”
The fight comes from an accusation pushed by Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He claimed Cook had listed two primary residences. Trump seized on that and called for her resignation.
Cook has denied wrongdoing. She said she would not be “bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet.” She also promised to answer legitimate concerns. “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.”
If Cook follows through with her lawsuit, the case could eventually end up before the Supreme Court.
There have been good amount of reactions on the internet. “He’s scared to death of an intelligent woman,” one Threads user wrote. Another added, “Black women have zero problem standing up to Trump and I love it.”
Some critics claimed Cook was only appointed because of diversity and inclusion efforts. But others were quick to clap back too. On X, one user wrote, “ANoThEr DeI HiRe I wish yall knew how f—–g stupid yall looked saying that. Trump and his entire cabinet are full of DEI hires cause they sure as hell didn’t get the job based on merit.”
Cook grew up in Georgia. She has a long record as an economist. She studied at Spelman, Berkeley, and Oxford, served in government and academia, and became the first Black woman confirmed to the Fed Board in 2022 after Vice President Kamala Harris broke a tie in the Senate.
All because he can’t fire Powell…
Lisa Cook embodies four traits Trump hates:
She’s a woman, he’s a misogynist.
She’s Black, he’s a racist.
She’s extremely competent, she teaches at Harvard and Stanford.
And above all, she’s independent-minded, unlike his incompetent minions. pic.twitter.com/bEyijJXORS— 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐊𝐎𝐌𝐒𝐀 | 🇪🇺🇫🇷🇵🇱🇺🇦 (@tweet4Anna_NAFO) August 26, 2025
Trump has already been pressuring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to slash interest rates, and now his fight with Cook has escalated into a legal matter.
Cook says she isn’t backing down. And if Trump was expecting her to quietly walk away, he may have badly miscalculated.
