President Donald Trump on Monday seized what could be a prime opportunity to shape the composition of the group responsible for key decisions impacting the American economy.

In a move sure to spur controversy and criticism on the left, Trump fired Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook amid allegations that she engaged in mortgage fraud, as Breitbart reports, potentially creating a vacancy that the president can fill with a candidate more aligned with his vision for the country.

Trump takes action

Letting Cook -- and the world -- know of his decision, Trump posted a letter on Truth Social in which he outlined his rationale.

The president began by citing what he said was his “authority under Article II of the Constitution of the United States and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913,” removing Cook from her post immediately.

He added his belief that the latter provisions state that she may be removed at his discretion, “for cause.”

Elaborating on what he believes to be just cause for Cook’s dismissal, the president went on to cite an Aug. 15 criminal referral from William Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to the Department of Justice, in which allegations that the Fed governor engaged in making “false statements on one or more mortgage agreements,” conduct that would, if established, constitute criminal fraud.

This “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter,” according to Trump, has eroded his confidence in Cook’s integrity and “trustworthiness as a financial regulator” and has therefore necessitated her removal.

Cook fires back

According to The Hill, Cook has no plans to recede quietly into the shadows after Trump’s ouster attempt, declaring that she will not resign, regardless of what the president said in his letter.

Cook issued a statement declaring her belief that Trump simply lacks the legal ability to boot her from her position.

“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” she said.

Cook continued, “I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”

According to CNBC, it was not immediately clear on Tuesday whether Cook had reported to her office for work, and Abbe Lowell, the attorney she has engaged to represent her, did not respond when asked about the Federal Reserve governor’s whereabouts.

Protracted battle ahead?

Given Trump’s determination to oust Cook and the governor’s apparent resolve to remain in her post, it appears that a heated legal battle may be in the offing.

Notably, should Trump prevail in that fight, the majority of the Fed board’s seven members would be individuals he has chosen, a scenario that could substantially alter the impasse stemming from chair Jerome Powell’s ongoing refusal to lower interest rates, something the president has repeatedly -- and publicly -- decried.