Democrats erupt over “illegal” Trump move to fire Fed’s Lisa Cook – Axios

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. 

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See also: https://www.axios.com/2025/08/26/trump-fires-federal-reserve-lisa-cook