Washington — Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook filed suit against President Trump, Chairman Jerome Powell and the Fed’s board of governors on Thursday, asking the court to block the president’s attempt to fire her from the central bank.
Mr. Trump announced Cook’s termination from the Fed board of governors late Monday, citing allegations she had committed mortgage fraud, which he described as “deceitful and potentially criminal.” The move came after the president spent months railing against the Fed and Powell for leaving interest rates relatively high so far this year.
Cook filed her lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday. She asked the court to declare that Mr. Trump’s attempted firing is “unlawful and void” and that Cook “remains an active member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.” She also asked the court to state that Fed board members “can only be removed for cause, meaning instances of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, or comparable misconduct.”
“Governor Cook seeks immediate declaratory and injunctive relief to confirm her status as a member of the Board of Governors, safeguard her and the Board’s congressionally mandated independence, and allow Governor Cook and the Federal Reserve to continue its critical work,” the suit said.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
