Trump orders removal of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he would immediately remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook from her position on the central bank’s board of directors.

In an announcement made on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump posted a letter addressed to Cook in which he informed her of his decision and accused her of making “deceitful and potentially criminal” mortgage agreements.

Neither Cook or the Fed has commented on the sacking.

Trump has put increasing pressure on the Fed – especially its chair Jerome Powell – in recent weeks over what he sees as the US central bank’s unwillingness to lower interest rates. He has repeatedly floated the possibility of firing Powell.

According to Trump’s letter, Cook signed one document attesting that a property in Michigan would be her primary residence for the next year.

“Two weeks later, you signed another document for a property in Georgia stating that it would be your primary residence for the next year,” he said.

“It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second,” Trump said.

In a statement last week, after she was accused of mortgage fraud by the head of the Housing Finance Agency, Cook said she had “no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet”.

She said she was “gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts”.

Cook is the first African American woman to sit on the board, a position she has held since 2022.