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Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook is refusing to resign after President Donald Trump said in a letter that he had “removed” her from the post “effective immediately.”

Trump’s move has led to a tense constitutional standoff over the power of the presidency and the independence of the Federal Reserve from political influence.

Trump posted a letter addressed to Cook on Truth Social on Friday, after first demanding her resignation on the same platform earlier in the week. “I hereby remove you from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors effective immediately, for cause, in accordance with the Constitution and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913,” Trump wrote in the letter.

“This action is necessary because I, as President, have determined, based on information provided to me by the Department of Justice, that there is sufficient reason to believe that you have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements,” the letter added. “I have determined that faithfully enacting the law requires your immediate removal from office.”

Cook is accused of falsely claiming two primary residences – one in Ann Arbor and another in Atlanta – in 2021 to secure better mortgage terms on loans. Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to an agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, first leveled the allegations, which he later expanded upon during an interview with Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria.”

“It’s very odd to see people try to twist back way sideways and upside down to justify mortgage fraud,” Pulte said. “This is a very serious crime. Mortgage fraud carries up to 30 years in prison. I believe the president has ample cause to fire Lisa Cook. Whether he wants to do that or not is entirely up to the president. However, we will go where mortgage fraud is. If mortgage fraud is with a Republican or Democrat, it 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 to that.”

Pulte sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department on Aug. 15, accusing Cook of “violations of knowingly making a false statement in relation to a bank transaction involving a foreign bank and knowingly falsifying documents and making false entries in property records.” No formal charges have been filed against Cook.

Cook, who served as a professor of economics and policy at Michigan State University, was appointed to the Federal Reserve Board by President Joe Biden in 2022. In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Cook pushed back on Trump’s attempt to fire her.

“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” Cook said in a statement. “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’s lawyer is Abbe Lowell, a high-powered attorney who has previously represented Hunter Biden, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and both Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. In a statement, Lowell called Trump’s move a “vendetta.”

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

FOX Business reached out to the Federal Reserve for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

Lowell later issued another statement announcing that he was filing a lawsuit on behalf of Cook to challenge Trump’s move in court.

“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,” he said.

Democrats Slam Trump’s Move as ‘Power Grab’

Leading Democrats came to Cook’s defense on Friday, decrying Trump’s move as both unconstitutional and politically motivated. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., all issued statements critical of the president.

Raskin told Axios, “What an outrage and a scandal. This is the big one constitutionally.”

Warren called the move “an authoritarian power grab” and claimed “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.”

Jeffries also decried the move and said there was not “a shred of credible evidence that she has done anything wrong.” He also aimed at Trump directly: “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.”

The fight comes as Trump has begun to escalate his war of words with Fed Chair Jerome Powell over interest rates. The president and his allies have been calling for the central bank to lower rates, which would provide a boost to the economy and reduce the cost of servicing the national debt, which currently stands at over $37 trillion.