Who Is Lisa Cook And Why Did Donald Trump Fire Her From The Fed?

US President Donald Trump on Aug. 25 dismissed Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, intensifying his long-running clash with the central bank over interest rate policy. Under federal law, board members are appointed for 14-year terms and can only be removed by the US President “for cause.”

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump shared the letter addressed to Cook announcing her removal from the Board of Governors of the central bank with immediate effect.

Cook, who joined the Fed in 2022, had a term set to run until 2038.

Trump accused Cook of making false statements on mortgage documents, allegations he described as “gross negligence” and “potentially criminal.”

“I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position,” Trump wrote in the letter addressed to Cook.

The US President claimed Cook had signed a document stating that a property in Michigan would serve as her primary residence for the following year, only to sign another document two weeks later for a home in Georgia with the same declaration.

“It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second,” he said.

In the same letter, Trump wrote, “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.”

“The executive power of the United States is vested in me as President and, as President, I have a solemn duty to ensure that the laws of the United States are faithfully executed,” Trump wrote. “I have determined that faithfully executing the law requires your immediate removal from office.”

According to Politico, Cook was nominated to the Fed’s governing body by former US President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2022. Prior to that, she was a professor of economics and international relations at Michigan State University and served on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Cook is the first African-American woman to hold a seat on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, according to a Reuters report.

Cook’s academic background includes time at Harvard and Stanford, and she has previously worked on the Council of Economic Advisers under former US President Barack Obama, according to Guardian report.

Cook’s dismissal comes after months of Trump criticising the Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome Powell. He has repeatedly pressured the central bank to cut interest rates, even floating the idea of removing Powell.

According to CBS News, Cook, Powell and 10 other Fed officials sit on the committee responsible for setting US monetary policy. The Fed raised interest rates to their highest levels in decades during 2022 and 2023 to rein in inflation. While some cuts followed, the bank has so far kept rates elevated this year, citing concerns that inflation could rebound or that Trump’s proposed tariffs might push consumer prices higher.

High borrowing costs, however, can slow economic growth and squeeze households and businesses. Trump has frequently attacked this strategy, derisively nicknaming Powell “Too Late” and even blaming him for mishandling a renovation of the Fed’s headquarters, CBS News reported.