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Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has declined to resign even after President Donald Trump claimed in a letter that he had “removed” her “effective immediately” from her position. The unprecedented move ignited a constitutional dispute as Trump signed off the letter on Friday, which was posted to Truth Social on Saturday, just four days after first publicly calling on Cook to resign on the same social media platform.

In the letter, the former president states that he is acting in accordance with the U.S. Constitution and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which gives presidents the right to remove governors from the Federal Reserve Board for “cause”. He added that he believes “for cause” exists to fire Cook and that there was “sufficient reason to believe” she had “made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements”.

“I have determined that faithfully enacting the law requires your immediate removal from office,” Trump added.

Cook is accused by Bill Pulte, a Trump-appointed member of the agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, of using a loophole to fraudulently claim primary residence in both Ann Arbor and Atlanta in 2021 to receive more advantageous mortgage terms on one of her homes. Pulte told Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria” that there is strong evidence against Cook.

“It’s very odd to see people try to twist back way sideways and upside down to justify mortgage fraud. It is a very serious crime. It’s carrying up to 30-year prison sentences. I believe the president has ample cause to fire Lisa Cook. Whether he wants to do that or not is entirely up to the president. However, we will go where mortgage fraud is. If mortgage fraud is with Republican or Democrat, it doesn’t matter if you commit mortgage fraud in President Trump’s America, we’re going to come after you, and Lisa Cook is no exception to that,” he said.

On Aug. 15, Pulte delivered a criminal referral to the Justice Department. The referral accuses Cook of falsifying bank documents and property records. To date, Cook has not been charged with any crime related to the referral.

Cook was initially appointed to the Federal Reserve Board in 2022 by former President Joe Biden. In a statement to Fox News Digital, she slammed Trump’s claim that he had the authority to remove her.

“President Trump purported to fire me “for cause” when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so. I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022,” Cook said.

Cook’s attorney is high-profile lawyer Abbe Lowell, who has represented Hunter Biden, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump in the past. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Abbe quickly shot down Trump’s attempt to remove Cook.

“President Trump has taken to social media to once again ‘fire by tweet,” and once again, his reflex to bully is flawed, and his demands lack any proper process, basis, or legal authority. We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action,” Lowell said.

FOX Business also reached out to the Federal Reserve for comment, but an official did not immediately respond.

Lowell later confirmed that he is planning on filing a lawsuit on Cook’s behalf to further dispute Trump’s attempt to fire her. “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. We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action,” he said.

Democrats Slam Trump’s Move as a Power Grab

Key Democrats immediately came out in support of Cook, arguing that Trump’s move to fire her was unconstitutional and a political ploy. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., all issued statements in support of Cook and her fight against Trump.

“This is just another example of President Trump trampling on the Constitution and basic norms of our democracy,” Warren said in a statement. “Donald Trump is a lawless president who wants to destroy the integrity of our institutions. He’s overstepped his authority once again by threatening to fire Lisa Cook because she exposed his greed. Trump is desperately looking for a scapegoat to cover for his own failure to lower costs for Americans, and firing Lisa Cook is his latest move.”

Jeffries followed up on the sentiment, arguing that there is not “a shred of credible evidence that she has done anything wrong”. He also took the opportunity to attack Trump for his failed infrastructure deal. “To the extent anyone is unfit to serve in a position of responsibility because of deceitful and potentially criminal conduct, it is the current occupant of the White House. The American people are not buying your phony projection and slander of a distinguished public servant,” he said.

Trump’s continued attempts to go after Cook come as he and Fed chair Jerome Powell have been at odds over how to handle interest rate hikes. Trump has long been critical of the Fed raising interest rates to combat inflation, largely because it also increases the cost of servicing the federal debt, which is now at $37.7 trillion.

If Trump had the legal authority to remove Cook “for cause”, it could have allowed him to also oust Powell from his position over their differences on interest rate policy, but by extension, it also could have prevented other presidents from doing the same should they fall out with a Fed governor in the future.