Trump Writes to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, Citing the Federal Reserve Act's For-Cause Provision
On August 25, 2025, President Donald Trump released in Washington, D.C., a letter to Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, invoking Article II of the Constitution and the Federal Reserve Act to remove her from her position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately. It was the first time a U.S. president had announced the removal of a sitting Federal Reserve governor; Cook is the first African-American woman to serve as a Federal Reserve governor.
The letter states that the Federal Reserve Act provides that a governor may be removed by the President for cause, citing 12 U.S.C. 242, and that Trump had determined there was sufficient cause to remove her.
The letter rested on a criminal referral dated August 15, 2025, from William J. Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to Attorney General Pam Bondi. The letter says there is sufficient reason to believe Cook may have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements: she signed a document attesting that a property in Michigan would be her primary residence for the next year, and two weeks later signed another document for a property in Georgia stating that it would be her primary residence for the next year.
Cook said in a statement that evening that Trump had purported to fire her for cause when no cause exists under the law, that he had no authority to do so, and that she would not resign.
This report covers only the facts as of the August 25, 2025 removal letter; Cook's subsequent lawsuit and the court proceedings are covered in the related GSM report linked below.
Related: Trump Forms Committee to Probe Fed Governor Lisa Cook; White House Hearing Set for Nov. 5
(Source: The White House)
Source: The White House
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿特区的美联储总部Eccles大楼侧立面。美联储理事在该大楼办公。Farragutful 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A side view of the Eccles Building, the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, D.C., where Federal Reserve governors work. Photo by Farragutful, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
