Overview

• Trump announced Cook’s ouster with immediate effect and cited alleged false statements on mortgage documents in a letter made public online.
• Cook’s term on the seven‑member Federal Reserve Board runs through January 2038, and a recent Supreme Court ruling says governors can be removed only for serious misconduct, raising the prospect of a legal challenge.
• The allegations surfaced after FHFA chief Bill Pulte asked the Justice Department to review Cook’s real‑estate loans, according to Bloomberg reporting referenced by officials.
• The move escalates a broader confrontation over monetary policy after Jerome Powell signaled at Jackson Hole that a near‑term rate cut is possible, a message that lifted U.S. stocks and weakened the dollar.
• ECB President Christine Lagarde warned that threats to central‑bank independence risk dysfunction and financial instability as global peers watch the U.S. dispute.