According to a CNBC report, Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that the President does not have the authority to remove the Fed Governor based solely on a referral letter.
Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook will reportedly file a lawsuit against her firing from the central bank’s board by President Donald Trump.
“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,” said Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, according to a CNBC report.
“We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action,” Lowell added in his statement, according to the report. This comes a day after Cook said she would continue to carry out her duties and that she would not resign, the report added.
On Friday, President Trump said that what Cook did was “bad,” after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte accused the Fed Governor of mortgage fraud by lying on her loan applications to secure more favorable terms. “This is great news. No one is above the law, and that includes alleged mortgage fraudster, Lisa Cook,” Pulte said in a post on X, referring to President Trump’s comments.
Cook responded to the allegations made by Pulte, saying she has no intention of being bullied to step down. “I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve, and so, I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts,” she said.
Meanwhile, former Fed Vice Chair Roger Ferguson said that the reason for the muted reaction of U.S. equities is that Wall Street has now “conditioned” itself to these announcements from the President.
Meanwhile, U.S. equities edged up in Tuesday’s midday trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.04%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.11%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.
The iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) was up 0.14% at the time of writing.
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