President Donald Trump said late Monday that he has removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the U.S. central bank, citing “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct” in mortgage applications. In a letter posted on his Truth Social account and sent to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Trump wrote that Cook is fired “effective immediately” under his authority in the Federal Reserve Act and Article II of the Constitution. Trump’s decision rests on allegations that Cook declared two separate properties as her primary residence within a two-week span, a move Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte referred to the Justice Department as possible mortgage fraud. Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Board, was appointed in 2022 by then-President Joe Biden and held a term running through 2038. She has not been charged and has previously denied wrongdoing. The dismissal is unprecedented; no sitting Fed governor has been removed by a president since the central bank was created in 1913. Legal analysts expect a court battle over whether the mortgage-fraud accusations meet the statute’s “for cause” threshold and whether the action infringes on the Fed’s operational independence. Cook’s ouster leaves a second open seat on the seven-member Board—Adriana Kugler resigned earlier this month—giving Trump two opportunities to reshape monetary policy at a time when he has repeatedly pressed the Fed to cut interest rates. The Federal Reserve and Cook had no immediate public comment on the firing, which comes ahead of the central bank’s next policy meeting in September.