NEW YORK -- In an unprecedented move, U.S.President Donald Trump said that he’s firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook — marking a sharp escalation in his efforts to exert greater control on one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world.Trump took to social media to announce that he would be removing Cook, effective immediately, over allegations that she committed mortgage fraud before she joined the board.
In response, Cook said that she would not step down — and maintained that the president has no authority to fire her.“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” she said in an emailed statement.“I will not resign.”Cook made headlines three years ago when she became the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board of governors, which votes on the central bank’s key interest rate decisions.
Prior to her appointment to the board, she was a longtime economics professor and also held roles in the Clinton, G.W.Bush and Obama administrations.Here's what to know about Lisa Cook.Cook was appointed to the Fed’s board by President Joe Biden in 2022.
Her nomination was opposed by most Senate Republicans, and she was approved on a 50-50 vote with the tie broken by then-Vice President Kamala Harris.When she took office, Cook became the first Black woman to serve as a Fed Governor in the institution's over century-long history.She initially filled an unexpired term and was reappointed the following year.
Her appointment runs through January 2038.Cook has taught economics and international relations at Michigan State University, and was previously also on the faculty of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.She was a Marshall Scholar who received degrees from Oxford University and Spelman College.
Also prior to her appointment to the Fed, she served as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama from 20...