President Donald Trump said he would soon remove Federal Reserve Lisa Cook from her position in a massive escalation in the fight against the US Central Bank, the BBC reported.
He said he had “good reason” to believe Cook made a false statement about the mortgage agreement, citing the constitutional authority he said he allowed her to take her away.
In response, Cook said Trump had no authority to fire her and that she would not resign.
The president’s rejection of members of central bank leadership is an unprecedented move, and Trump is increasingly putting pressure on the Fed, particularly its chairman Jerome Powell, what he deems unwilling to lower interest rates.
Cook is one of seven members of the Federal Reserve Governor’s Committee, and in this position is on a 12-person committee responsible for setting US interest rates.