Trump Will Announce Nominee to Replace Lisa Cook Soon, as the President Commits Fully to Controlling FOMC on Rate Cuts

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he intends to move quickly to announce a nominee to replace Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, underscoring his broader effort to gain control of the central bank and push for aggressive interest rate cuts.

“We have some very good people for that position,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I may have someone in mind that I like.” Among the names under consideration are Stephen Miran, one of Trump’s top economic advisers, and former World Bank President David Malpass, a longtime ally who has criticized the Fed for not lowering rates.

Trump had already nominated Miran earlier this month to fill another open seat created by the resignation of Biden appointee Adriana Kugler, whose term ends in January 2026. But on Tuesday, Trump suggested Miran could instead be shifted to Cook’s seat, which carries a term expiring in 2038. “We might switch him to the other—it’s a longer term,” Trump said. Malpass could then be considered for the shorter seat if Miran is reassigned.

The announcement came just hours after Trump took the unprecedented step of seeking to remove Cook, a Biden appointee, from the Fed board. Trump cited allegations that Cook submitted fraudulent information on mortgage applications, claiming two properties as her primary residence within weeks of each other. The charges originated from Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and are under investigation by the Department of Justice.

Cook has rejected Trump’s authority to remove her, vowed not to resign, and said she will pursue legal action. Her attorney confirmed Tuesday that Cook will file a lawsuit to block her ouster. The Fed, in a statement, said it would “abide by any court decision” and reaffirmed that long tenures and removal protections for governors are a vital safeguard to ensure monetary policy decisions remain based on data and long-term national interests.

Trump, however, signaled he is ready for a legal battle. “We need people who are 100% above board, and it doesn’t seem like she was,” he said. “I’d abide by the court.”

Behind the scenes, Trump consulted a small group of aides, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, before moving against Cook. The decision is part of a broader push by Trump and his allies to reshape the Fed. Since returning to office in January, Trump has repeatedly attacked Fed Chair Jerome Powell for refusing to slash interest rates, calling on him to resign and accusing him of mismanaging costly renovations of the Fed’s Washington headquarters.

At a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Trump made clear his intentions: “We’ll have a majority very shortly. Once we have a majority, housing is going to swing, and it’s going to be great. People are paying too high an interest rate. That’s the only problem with us. We have to get the rates down a little bit.”

Currently, two of the Fed’s seven governors—Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller—are Trump appointees from his first term. If he succeeds in replacing Cook with one of his allies and confirming Miran to the Kugler seat, Trump will secure a majority of the Fed board.

Malpass echoed Trump’s view, writing recently that “both a larger-than-expected rate cut and foundational changes at the Fed would be major pro-growth innovations in U.S. economic policy.”

Still, the Fed’s founding legislation states that governors can only be removed “for cause,” and recent Supreme Court rulings, while narrowing job protections at independent agencies, have not yet been tested in the context of the central bank. In May, the Court suggested that Fed employees enjoy stronger protections than those at other agencies.

Despite legal uncertainties, Trump appears undeterred. “We’ll have a majority very shortly,” he reiterated Tuesday. “So that’ll be great.”