Jerome Powell, president of the American federal reserve, on the left, and Lisa Cook, governor of the American federal reserve, during the open meeting of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC, United States, Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that it would respect any court decision to find out if President Donald Trump had the legal power of the member of the Governors’ Council Lisa Cook.
The Fed, in a press release from a spokesperson, noted that “Cook said through her personal lawyer that she would quickly dispute this action before the court and would request a judicial decision which would confirm her ability to continue to fulfill her responsibilities as a member confirmed by the Senate of the Governors of the Federal Reserve System”.
The declaration was the first response of the Fed to Trump’s announcement on Monday evening that he deleted Cook as the governor of the Fed due to allegations that she committed mortgage fraud.
The spokesperson did not explicitly criticize Trump for trying to remove Cook.
But the declaration noted that “Congress, through the Federal Reserve Act, orders that governors serve in long and fixed terms and cannot be deleted by the president that” for good “.”
“The long mandates and the protections for the abolition of governors serve as a vital guarantee, ensuring that monetary policy decisions are based on data, economic analysis and long -term interests of the American people,” the press release said.
Trump said journalists separately on Tuesday that he would respect any court decision on the fate of Cook at the Fed.
“I remain by the court, yes, I remain by the court,” he said, while predicting that the Fed board of directors would soon be composed of the majority of his people appointed after selecting the replacement of Cook.
If Trump wins the majority of people named, it may be better to highly lower interest rates, as he has required several times.
Any challenge to the Federal Cook Court to its dismissal should end with the Supreme Court publishing the last word on the dispute.
In the press release on Tuesday, the Fed spokesman said: “The federal reserve system was created by the congress to carry out its statutory mandates – in particular the promotion of a maximum employment, stable prices and a well -functioning financial system”.
“The federal reserve will continue to exercise its functions as established by law,” said the spokesperson.
“As always, the federal reserve will respect any court decision,” they said.
“The federal reserve reaffirms its commitment to the transparency, responsibility and independence of the service of families, communities and American companies.”
Cook’s lawyer Abbe Lowell said Trump on Tuesday “did not have the power to withdraw” Cook.
“His attempt to dismiss, based solely on a reference letter, has no factual or legal basis,” said Lowell. “We will submit a legal action contesting this illegal action.”
Cook said on Monday evening that she would continue to work at the Fed despite Trump’s claim that he had the power to remove it.
The Fed did not respond to the CNBC request as to whether Cook worked on Tuesday at the central bank headquarters in Washington, DC, or remotely.
The White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement: “The president exercised his legitimate power to withdraw a governor from the Federal Council of Governors for the reason under the USC 242.”
“The president determined that there was a reason to withdraw a governor who was crediblely accused of lying in financial documents of a very sensitive position supervising financial institutions,” said Desai.
– CNBC Erin Doherty contributed to this story.
