.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has said she will not resign from her post after President Donald Trump said in a letter he had “removed” her “effective immediately.”

In a letter to Cook obtained by Fox News Digital on Monday, Trump said, “Under the United States Constitution and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, as President of the United States, I have the authority to remove any member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors for cause.” After due consideration, I have determined that there is sufficient reason to believe that you have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements.”

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

The letter was posted on Truth Social the same day. Trump initially demanded Cook’s resignation on the platform five days earlier. He said at the time, “I’m asking Lisa Cook to resign, effective immediately.”

Pulte made the allegations at the heart of the affair in an interview on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria.”

“The president has ample cause to fire Lisa Cook,” Pulte said on the show. “Whether or not he does that is up to him, but I am going to continue where mortgage fraud is, and if mortgage fraud is with Republicans or Democrats, it really 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.”

Cook had been appointed by then-President Joe Biden to the Federal Reserve Board in 2022. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Cook said, “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 is being represented by Abbe Lowell, who has also represented Hunter Biden, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Lowell did not mince words.

“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,” Lowell said. “We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action.”

FOX Business has contacted the Federal Reserve for comment, but did not receive a response.

Lowell later announced a lawsuit would be filed on Cook’s behalf. “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,” Lowell said.

Leading Democrats have also come out in support of Cook. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., have all released statements.

“The president’s outrageous conduct is just the latest example of his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and the laws that were passed to protect the independence of our most important democratic institutions,” Raskin told Axios. “What an outrage and a scandal. This is the big one constitutionally.”

Warren called Trump’s move an “authoritarian power grab.”

“It’s painfully clear that 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,” Warren’s statement continued.

Jeffries also took issue with Trump’s assertion that he had grounds to remove Cook “for cause,” saying, “There is not a shred of credible evidence that she has done anything wrong. In fact, 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.”

Trump’s move comes as he and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have continued to spar over interest rates. The president has repeatedly called for the central bank to lower rates to lower the cost of servicing the national debt, which now stands at over $37 trillion.

Taylor Sun contributed to this report.