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Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook is refusing to step down after President Donald Trump wrote in a letter that he had “removed” her from office “effective immediately.”

Trump shared the letter to Cook on Truth Social on Friday, five days after first calling for her to resign on the platform. In the letter, Trump wrote that he was removing her from the Federal Reserve Board “under my authority as President of the United States and as provided under the Constitution and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.”

The act states that the president can remove governors from the Fed’s Board “for cause.”

In the letter, Trump gave the cause. The president alleged that he had “received information that provides sufficient reason to believe that Lisa Cook has made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements.”

“I have determined that faithfully enacting the law requires your immediate removal from office,” Trump wrote.

The accusations are based on information from Bill Pulte, whom Trump appointed to a regulatory agency for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Pulte accused Cook of “listing two primary residences on mortgage agreements in 2021 to take advantage of a lower rate: one in Ann Arbor and one in Atlanta.”

Appearing on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria,” Pulte framed the allegations against Cook.

“This is not a situation of just a technicality of ‘I forgot.’ This is very clearly an individual who intentionally provided false information to a financial institution to secure a financial benefit from the financial institution. It’s very odd to see people try to twist back way sideways and upside down to justify mortgage fraud,” Pulte said.

Pulte continued, “This is a very serious crime. Mortgage fraud carries up to 30 years in prison. I believe the president has ample cause to fire Lisa Cook. Whether he wants to do that or not is entirely up to the president. However, we will go where mortgage fraud is. If mortgage fraud is with Republicans or Democrats, it doesn’t matter. If you commit mortgage fraud in President Trump’s America, we’re going to come after you. And Lisa Cook is no exception to that.”

On Aug. 15, Pulte sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department that alleged Cook “violated the law by making false statements and misrepresentations to banks in the processing of two real estate loans in 2021, as well as creating false bank documents and real property records.”

The criminal referral has not led to charges.

Cook was nominated for a term on the Federal Reserve Board in 2022 and confirmed by the Senate in December of that year, during Biden’s presidency. In a statement given to Fox News Digital, Cook immediately rejected Trump’s claim that he had the power to remove her from office.

“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so. I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022,” she said.

Cook is being represented by Abbe Lowell, who has represented Hunter Biden and New York Attorney General Letitia James, among other Democrats. The attorney also represented Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Lowell was unsparing in his comments to Trump. “President Trump has taken to social media to once again ‘fire by tweet,’ and once again his reflex to bully is flawed and his demands lack any proper process, basis, or legal authority. We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action,” he said.

FOX Business contacted the Federal Reserve for comment. A spokesperson for the organization did not immediately reply to the request.

Lowell later announced that a lawsuit would be filed on behalf of Cook to challenge Trump’s removal of her from office. “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.

Democrats Denounce Trump’s Move

High-profile Democrats spoke out against Trump’s move, deeming it unconstitutional and politically motivated. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., all released statements in Cook’s defense.

Raskin told Axios: “What an outrage and a scandal. This is the big one constitutionally.”

Warren claimed that Trump is attempting “an authoritarian power grab,” before adding that “Trump is desperately looking for a scapegoat to cover for his own failure to lower costs for Americans, and firing Lisa Cook is his latest move.”

Jeffries claimed that there was not “a shred of credible evidence that she has done anything wrong.” The New York Democrat also assailed Trump and said, “To the extent anyone is unfit to serve in a position of responsibility because of deceitful and potentially criminal conduct, it is the current occupant of the White House. The American people are not buying your phony projection and slander of a distinguished public servant.”

Trump has long sparred with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over interest rate policy. Trump and other conservatives have called on Powell and the Federal Reserve to cut rates to boost the economy and lower the interest rate on the more than $37 trillion national debt.

Legal experts question whether the president has the authority to fire members of the Federal Reserve’s Board. Trump’s move raises important questions about presidential authority and the degree of independence of the Federal Reserve.