Trump: I’ll Fire Fed’s Cook if She Won’t Resign

If Trump were to successfully remove Cook “for cause,” he would get the chance to reshape the central bank’s governing board, potentially for years to come.

Two of the seven current governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, are Trump appointees. Both dissented from the Fed’s most recent decision to hold interest rates steady.

Another seat opened up earlier this summer, when Adriana Kugler announced she would step down.

If Trump is able to remove Cook, he would appoint her successor — potentially ensuring that a majority of the board shares his view on monetary policy. Board members serve 14-year terms.

Pulte, a vocal critic of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell who has aggressively backed Trump’s calls for the central bank to lower interest rates, has continuously attacked Cook on social media since revealing his allegations.

Trump previously called for Cook to resign immediately in light of the allegations. Ed Martin, a Justice Department lawyer who is widely seen as a loyalist to the president, urged Powell to promptly remove Cook — even though the central bank chief cannot do so under the law.

Cook has consistently voted in line with Powell. She sided with the majority to keep rates unchanged following the Federal Open Market Committee’s most recent meeting last month.

Trump’s comments Friday morning came as Powell signaled that economic conditions “may warrant” interest rate cuts.

While the economy and labor market remain resilient, downside risks are rising and growth is declining — and Trump’s tariffs are once again raising inflation concerns, Powell said at the Fed’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.