Lisa Cook will file a lawsuit to block President Donald Trump from firing her. Trump moved to remove Cook over alleged "deceitful and potential criminal conduct" tied to mortgages taken out in 2021. Cook contends that the president lacks authority to dismiss her and intends to remain on the Federal Reserve Board. The White House has pursued broader control over government agencies and personnel since January, overseeing large departures and withholding authorized spending. Trump has intensified pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and demanded substantial cuts. Markets showed modest reaction: equities were largely flat, the dollar fell, and Treasury yields declined.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook will file a lawsuit to prevent President Donald Trump from firing her, a lawyer for the embattled central bank official said on Tuesday, kicking off what could be a protracted legal fight over the White House's effort to shape U.S. monetary policy. "His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis. We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action," Cook's lawyer, prominent Washington attorney Abbe Lowell, said in a statement.
Trump's showdown with the nominally independent central bank follows other largely successful efforts to bring other elements of the U.S. government under his direct control. Since returning to office in January, the president has overseen the departure of hundreds of thousands of civil servants, dismantled several agencies and withheld billions of dollars of spending authorized by Congress. Trump pressured the Fed to lower interest rates during his first term in the White House and he has escalated that campaign in recent months.
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