It is unclear if Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook showed up for work on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced he had fired her on Monday evening.
Cook, 61, released a statement late Monday night through her attorneys saying she would not step aside and would continue in the role. The Washington Examiner contacted the Fed to see if Cook was at the Fed on Tuesday, but did not receive confirmation.
The development is one investors are watching closely. Trump’s move to fire Cook has drawn criticism that he is eroding the central bank’s independence. If successful, Trump’s push to remove Cook would be the first time a president has ever removed a Fed governor.
Trump critics have encouraged Cook to use legal means to fight removal to protect the central bank’s independence. At issue, too, is the response from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and whether he recognizes Trump’s order for Cook’s dismissal as legitimate. Powell has for months been under pressure from Trump and his advisers, including the threat of being fired himself.
The announcement Monday night came after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte asked the Justice Department to consider prosecuting Cook for mortgage fraud.
Trump said that Cook was fired with immediate effect in a note posted to Truth Social. In the document, he accused her of “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct.” He argued that the allegations of mortgage fraud were the cause he needed to fire her.
Although the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the president generally has the power to remove independent agency members, the conservative majority stipulated in that case that Federal Reserve board members can only be fired for cause.
Cook, though, said she intends to keep doing her job, indicating that she plans to mount a legal challenge to being fired.
“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 a statement. “I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”
LISA COOK SAYS SHE’S NOT LEAVING FED AND TRUMP HAS ‘NO AUTHORITY’ TO FIRE HER
Trump has been pushing for lower interest rates, and if he is able to replace Cook, he will have another vote on the 12-person Fed board. Adriana Kugler, another Fed governor who voted to hold interest rates steady, recently and unexpectedly resigned, handing Trump another opening on the board.
Two members of the Federal Open Market Committee, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, voted to lower interest rates at the last meeting.
This story is breaking and will be updated.