Lisa Cook made history. Now she’s being punished for it.

Her removal isn’t about merit — it’s about politics and baseless attacks designed to silence her voice.

Michael Franklin with Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook. (Courtesy Michael Franklin)

One of my first jobs was teaching economic education and entrepreneurship at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, where I also proudly served as a member of the Student Board of Directors. It was there that I learned how public affairs could serve the public good in accessible ways—how decisions made inside the marble walls of the Fed ripple outward into classrooms, communities, and kitchen tables. This foundational experience helped me learn about the role of quasi-governmental agencies like the Fed. “Quasi-governmental” was new terminology to me at the time, because, like many, I assumed the Fed was simply part of the federal government. But in fact, the Fed is an independent institution that helps decide how much you pay on your mortgage, whether your car loan is affordable, and how high your credit card interest climbs.

That’s why I continue to closely follow the Fed, including the confirmation process for Governor Lisa Cook. I’ve wrote about how her historic appointment as the first Black woman on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors was met with a wave of unwarranted and unsubstantiated attacks on her character. Senators such as Bill Hagerty and Kevin Cramer and former White House Economic Advisor Peter Navarro smeared her qualifications, calling her “fundamentally not qualified” and a “purely race-based appointment” and dismissing her extensive economic scholarship as “more like social science than monetary policy.” None of those claims held merit then, and they do not now.

Which is why we should take a moment to question if this current attack—President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her—holds any weight or veracity. The targeting of Cook has always been less about her qualifications or the veracity of legal claims against her and more about who she is and what she represents: underestimated people in this country. And that should resonate with every American. Because most Americans know what it feels like to be underestimated or discounted by a system and economy rigged against us.

Because the Fed operated independently, the letter from the president this week trying to illegally remove her is another attempt at overreach. The Fed’s independence protects families and businesses from the chaos of partisan politics. To target Cook unjustly and illegally is to destabilize that independence. Trump wants loyalty to him to drive decision-making at the Fed, another example of this regime’s demand for capitulation at the expense of independence, stability, and the public good.

To be clear: This is also an attack on history. Cook was the first Black woman ever to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Her impressive portfolio as a world-renowned economist, her scholarship on the impacts of lynching on African American innovation and economic growth, alongside her record of service, were extraordinary—yet too often underrecognized. Many attacks against Cook have been explicitly about her race.

Some will claim the current attack has nothing to do with race and say we shouldn’t mention it. I call BS. Some will argue that the response to this should be “colorblind,” that Democrats should not mention race or gender when defending someone in public life. That argument is wrong. Colorblindness has never protected anyone—it has only erased the reality that racism and misogynoir make leaders like Lisa Cook bigger and easier targets. Pretending otherwise denies the lived reality of Black women leaders. A colorblind approach is a fundamental mistake. There’s a valid conversation about what the response to this abuse of power should look like, but we cannot ignore race when discussing this topic; otherwise, we will lose credibility in the conversation.

The attempted removal of Cook isn’t about the accusations of mortgage fraud. What’s happening is far darker: The regime is interfering with the Fed because it doesn’t want Cook to serve. The accusations are a pretext, not a reason. This is targeted harassment designed to intimidate and destroy a public servant.

The call now is simple: defend an American whose excellence earned her one of the premier positions in public service. Instead of being able to celebrate the role and do the work, Lisa Cook has faced baseless attacks since before she was even appointed. It’s shameful, it’s gross, and it’s a disgrace that people in power actively choose to harass and denigrate someone attempting to drive public good forward. Let’s rally our voices in support of Lisa Cook. It might be one of us tomorrow.

Michael Franklin is the founder and chief thought leadership officer of Words Normalize Behavior, a speechwriting, executive communications, and coalition-building agency.

---