• Cook tells Trump: You have no authority to fire me
By Obinna Uballa
United States stock futures edged lower on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced the removal of Federal Reserve Bank Governor, Lisa Cook, an unprecedented move that analysts say raises fresh questions over the central bank’s independence.
According to agency reports, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped 45 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures also slipped 0.1% each, CNBC reported. The U.S. dollar weakened 0.3% against major currencies, and long-term Treasury yields climbed as traders bet on a steeper yield curve, anticipating near-term rate cuts but higher long-term borrowing costs under a politicized Fed.
Trump, in a letter posted on his Truth Social account late Monday, said Cook was being fired “for cause,” alleging she made false statements on two mortgage applications. “It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second,” Trump wrote, accusing Cook of misrepresenting primary residence declarations for homes in Michigan and Georgia.
Cook, appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022 as the first African American woman on the Fed board, vowed to fight the decision. “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 a statement, adding that she would not resign. Her lawyer, Abbe David Lowell, warned of legal action to block what he called an “attempted illegal action.”
Reports say by law, a president can only remove a Fed governor for cause, but the statute offers no clear definition, setting the stage for a possible court battle that could reach the Supreme Court. The Federal Reserve has yet to comment on the firing.
The move, according to CNBC report, intensifies Trump’s pressure campaign on the central bank as he pushes for steep interest rate cuts. Trump has repeatedly criticised Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he once branded a “stubborn moron,” and previously suggested firing him.
The decision comes just weeks after Cook joined most policymakers in voting to hold rates steady at the Fed’s July meeting. It also follows the resignation of Governor Adriana Kugler earlier this month.
Trump’s announcement rattled global markets. European stocks opened lower, and U.S. investors braced for more volatility ahead of Nvidia’s earnings Wednesday and key inflation data later this week.
