Schumer: Trump 'Playing Jenga' With Fed by Firing Lisa Cook

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is sharply criticizing President Donald Trump's removal of Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, accusing him of "playing a dangerous game of Jenga" while risking the independence of the central bank and the stability of the U.S. economy.

"Any attempt to fire Lisa Cook from her position of Governor at the Federal Reserve is just the latest in Donald Trump's DC partisan games to rig the economy for his billionaire donors at the expense of hardworking Americans," Schumer said, according to a post on the social media platform X from C-SPAN Capitol Hill producer Craig Caplan early Tuesday.

"This attempted firing shreds the independence of the Fed and puts every American's savings and mortgage at risk," Schumer said.

The senator also warned that Trump is "playing a dangerous game of Jenga with a key pillar of our economy" with his actions against the Fed.

"This brazen power grab must be stopped by the courts before Trump does permanent damage to national, state, and local economies," said Schumer. "If the economy comes crashing down, if families lose their savings and Main Street pays the price, Donald Trump will own every ounce of the wreckage and devastation families feel."

On Monday, Trump informed Cook in a letter of his decision to fire her, telling her she was being removed "immediately."

Cook, a Federal Reserve governor appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022 and confirmed by the Senate in 2023, has supported the central bank's cautious approach to monetary policy amid ongoing inflation concerns.

Last week, she said she would not leave the post after Trump called for her resignation over an accusation from one of his officials that she committed mortgage fraud.

Trump and his advisers have argued that Cook and other Biden appointees are pursuing policies that hinder economic growth.

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