Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has rejected President Donald Trump’s renewed attempt to remove her from the US central bank’s board, arguing that he has no legal basis to fire her.
In a letter sent through her attorney Abbe Lowell on Wednesday, Cook denied any mortgage fraud or intentional wrongdoing and said the allegations do not provide a lawful reason for her removal.
“Governor Cook has never committed mortgage fraud or any intentional wrongdoing,” Lowell wrote, according to the letter seen by AFP.
The response came ahead of a deadline set by Trump in an August 5 letter, in which the president said he was considering removing Cook from the Federal Reserve Board.
Trump’s latest move follows an earlier attempt to oust Cook that was blocked by the Supreme Court in June. In a 5-4 ruling, the court said Trump had failed to give Cook adequate notice and an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
The justices did not rule on whether the mortgage fraud allegations themselves were valid.
No US president has previously removed a sitting Federal Reserve governor since the central bank was established 113 years ago.
Cook’s attorney also argued that Trump and several members of his administration had signed mortgage documents similar to those now being cited against her.
The dispute comes amid growing tensions between Trump and the Federal Reserve.
The president has repeatedly criticised the central bank over interest rates and has taken unprecedented steps against its independence, including launching a criminal investigation involving former Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
The Federal Reserve operates as an independent, non-partisan institution responsible for setting monetary policy in the world’s largest economy. Its governors are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Trump has maintained that Cook’s alleged conduct showed she was unfit for office. In his August 5 letter, he described the conduct as, at minimum, “grossly negligent.”
Cook, who became the first Black woman to serve as a Federal Reserve governor, has repeatedly denied the allegations.
The Supreme Court’s June ruling stressed the importance of the Fed’s independence, saying Trump could not dismiss governors simply “for any reason, or no reason.” Trump responded at the time by saying he would take “appropriate action immediately” against Cook.
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