Donald Trump is furious. He can’t believe what’s being done to him.
As the Deep State takes Trump to court in yet another major legal battle.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook launched a legal challenge against President Donald Trump on Thursday, filing a lawsuit in Washington, DC’s federal district court to block what her attorneys call an “unprecedented and illegal” attempt to remove her from her position.
The dispute centers on allegations of mortgage fraud, which Cook’s legal team argues are baseless and insufficient to justify her dismissal. The lawsuit seeks to ensure she remains in her role while the case unfolds.
Cook, whose term on the Federal Reserve Board runs until 2038, has tapped high-profile attorney Abbe Lowell, known for representing Hunter Biden, to lead her defense. In the filing, Lowell’s team contends that Trump’s move to fire Cook violates the Federal Reserve Act, which requires a clear showing of “cause” for a governor’s removal.
They argue that unverified claims about Cook’s mortgage applications, made before her Senate confirmation, do not meet this threshold.
“It is clear from the circumstances surrounding Governor Cook’s purported removal from the Federal Reserve Board that the mortgage allegations against her are pretextual, in order to effectuate her prompt removal and vacate a seat for President Trump to fill and forward his agenda to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve,” the lawsuit asserts.
Federal law stipulates that removing a governor like Cook—who earns $225,700 annually and has not been charged of a crime—requires evidence of “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
Her attorneys also claim that Trump’s public announcement of her termination on Truth Social Monday evening violated her Fifth Amendment due process rights, as she was given no prior notice.
The allegations against Cook originated from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who posted on X on August 20, claiming she falsified bank documents and property records to obtain better loan terms.
Pulte pointed to a July 2021 instance where Cook allegedly listed an Atlanta condo as her primary residence, just weeks after declaring a Michigan home as her primary residence for another loan. These claims led to a criminal referral to Attorney General Pam Bondi, though no charges have followed.
White House spokesman Kush Desai defended the president’s decision, telling the New York Post that Trump “exercised his lawful authority to remove a governor on the Federal Board of Governors for cause.”
Desai argued that the allegations of falsified financial documents warranted Cook’s removal, enhancing the Federal Reserve’s “accountability and credibility for both the markets and American people.”
Trump has echoed this stance, citing the Federal Reserve Act’s provision for removing governors “for cause.” In a letter to Cook, he wrote that the allegations, “at a minimum,” call into question her “competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”
The president has repeatedly criticized the Federal Reserve, targeting Chairman Jerome Powell—whom he has dubbed “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell”—for resisting calls to lower interest rates.
Trump has also taken aim at the Fed’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation in Washington, DC, even visiting the site earlier this summer, hard hat in hand. Powell’s term is set to end in May of next year.
Cook, a former academic who served on President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and President Joe Biden’s transition team, was confirmed to the Federal Reserve in May 2022 after a tie-breaking Senate vote by then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
In September 2023, she secured a full 14-year term in a 51-47 Senate vote, with South Dakota’s Sen. Mike Rounds as the only Republican in support.
Stay tuned to Prudent Politics.
