President Donald Trump said he had “sufficient cause” to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook with immediate effect, citing allegations that she misrepresented her primary residence on mortgage applications. The letter, posted late Monday, marks the first time a U.S. president has tried to fire a sitting Fed governor since the central bank was created in 1913. Cook, the first Black woman on the Fed’s Board, rejected the order, declaring she would “continue to carry out my duties.” She retained veteran Washington lawyer Abbe Lowell, who said a lawsuit will be filed arguing that the Federal Reserve Act allows removal only for proven misconduct during a governor’s tenure and that Trump has exceeded his authority. Policy analysts expect the case, which hinges on the statute’s ambiguous “for-cause” language, to head toward the Supreme Court. If the dismissal is upheld, Trump could quickly nominate a replacement and secure a four-member majority among the seven governors, amplifying his campaign for faster interest-rate cuts and intensifying worries about the Fed’s independence. Former officials warned that even the attempt to oust Cook may erode confidence in the institution and complicate Chair Jerome Powell’s efforts to manage monetary policy. Financial markets reacted swiftly. The dollar slid against major currencies in Asian trading before paring losses; the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was still off about 0.2% by mid-morning New York time, while USD/JPY fell below ¥146. Long-dated Treasuries sold off, steepening the curve, with the 10-year yield near 4.30% as the 2-year slipped to around 3.71%. Gold touched a two-week high, and equity benchmarks from Japan’s Nikkei to Europe’s STOXX 600 declined; France’s CAC 40 lost more than 2% as broader concerns over Fed independence and local political risks weighed on sentiment.