Democrats erupt as Trump moves to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook
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President Trump in the Oval Office on Aug. 22. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Democratic Congress members responded with fury on Monday after President Trump said he's firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.
Why it matters: Some lawmakers are calling on the federal judiciary to swiftly strike down Cook's ouster, arguing that the president has no legal basis for it.
- "It's an authoritarian power grab that blatantly violates the Federal Reserve Act, and must be overturned in court," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, in a statement.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said: "Trump is trying to remove her without a shred of credible evidence that she has done anything wrong."
- House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told Axios: "What an outrage and a scandal. This is the big one constitutionally."
What happened: Trump said in a letter posted to social media that Cook was "removed" from her position, "effective immediately," citing Article II of the Constitution and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.
- The Federal Reserve Act allows a president to fire a governor for cause, but it has never happened before and its legality is murky, Axios' Courtenay Brown and Neil Irwin reported.
- Trump pointed to claims by Federal Housing Finance Agency William Pulte that Cook listed two primary residences in mortgage applications before becoming a Fed governor, which he referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
- Cook has not responded to the allegations beyond saying last week she had "no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet" and was "gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts."
Between the lines: Trump's move comes after he spent weeks hammering the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.
- Trump has accused Fed chair Jerome Powell of stifling economic growth by keeping rates steady.
- Cook's firing is one of several unprecedented steps Trump has taken to try to force federal agencies to present a sunnier economic picture, including firing the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief earlier this month.
What they're saying: "Does the president have 'absolute unitary executive' power over the entire government, including all agencies and departments and the Fed, or can Congress set specific terms and conditions on appointments and firings?" said Raskin.
- "This is the test of whether Humphrey's Executor survives," he added, referring to Supreme Court precedent that restricts presidents from firing independent agency officials for policy reasons.
- Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), the vice ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a post on X: "He'll tank the economy before he stops being an ass."
- Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said in a statement: "This is a reckless attempt to hijack our nation's long-independent monetary policy and purge the policymakers who are preventing him from creating runaway inflation."
