Welcome to the News Hour. President Trump made it explicitly clear today. He is seeking more control of the Federal Reserve.

The president says he has fired Fed Governor Lisa Cook from the bank's board, but she says she's not leaving and will take the administration to court.

Cook's departure would create two board vacancies in just the last month. What's at stake is the balance of power

on the nation's top bank, which could potentially undermine its long-held independence.

I want to thank you all for being here. President Trump today doubling down on his fight to

exert control over the Fed, repeating claims that he has the authority to fire Federal Reserve Board

Governor Lisa Cook, accusing her of making false statements to get a better mortgage.

She seems to have had an infraction, and she can't have an infraction, especially that

infraction because she's in charge of, if you think about it, mortgages, and we need people

that are 100% above board,

and it doesn't seem like she was.

Mr. Trump announced Cook's firing in a statement late Monday, writing, quote,

I have determined that faithfully executing the law requires your immediate removal from office.

What she did was a bet, so I'll fire her if she doesn't resign.

Trump vowed last week to remove Cook if she didn't step down.

The law does allow a president to fire a Fed governor, but only for cause.

Cook fired back in her own statement today, saying, quote,

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. At the heart of Trump's

justification to fire Cook are allegations that Cook lied on mortgage applications in order to secure

more favorable terms. Bill Pulte, the Trump installedinstalled head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA,

posted on X two sets of signatures that he says show Cook claiming both an Atlanta condo and a Michigan home as her primary residences.

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