Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, announced on Tuesday he is filing a lawsuit to challenge President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her on Monday evening.
“President Trump has no authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. 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,” he said in a statement sent to CNN.
The announcement comes hours after Trump posted on social media a letter addressed to Cook informing her that he had sufficient “cause” to fire her.
Cook has recently come under fire by Trump and members of his administration for allegedly committing mortgage fraud. She has not been charged with any wrongdoing, however. Cook’s attorney is also representing New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is the subject of an FBI probe focused on potential mortgage fraud as well.
Lowell has represented several other high-profile clients over the years, including Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, over their use of private messaging services for official White House business. He also represented former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, over tax-related charges.
Trump, in his letter to Cook, wrote “I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position.”
“At a minimum, the conduct at issue exhibits the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator,” Trump added in his letter.
Last week, Cook said in a statement she would not be “bullied to step down” and that she was committed to “gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”
She reiterated her intent to stay on the Fed’s board Monday night after Trump posted his letter.
“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 statement her attorneys shared with CNN Monday night. “I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”
In the Fed’s 111 year history, no member of its board has been fired by a president. The legality of Trump’s attempt to fire Cook is unclear.
The Federal Reserve Act specifies that a president may only remove members of the Fed’s board “for cause” – though what merits a for-cause firing has not been explicitly defined.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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