President Donald Trump has formed a three-person committee to probe allegations of mortgage fraud against Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve Board of Governors member, following a notice to Cook over two months ago that he was considering her removal, and less than four months after the Supreme Court blocked his initial firing attempt.
Cook has strongly contested the allegations, and financial records appear to contradict the Trump administration’s claims.
The Allegations and Legal Battle
The dispute began over a year ago when Trump posted screenshots on social media of a letter firing Cook. He alleged that Cook, who began serving on the Fed in 2022 and was nominated to a full 14-year term by President Joe Biden in 2023, committed mortgage fraud in 2021. Specifically, Trump claimed Cook listed two different homes—a condo in Georgia and a house in Michigan—as her primary residence on mortgage applications, securing more favorable terms.
Lower courts allowed Cook to remain in office while she challenged Trump’s decision. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that Cook was “substantially likely” to show Trump violated federal law by firing her. Cobb noted the law allowing the president to fire a Federal Reserve governor “for cause” does not cover conduct before the official took office. The firing also violated Cook’s constitutional right to fair treatment, as she did not receive notice or an opportunity to contest the decision beforehand.
A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld Cobb’s order, agreeing Cook was likely to succeed in her claim that she did not receive due process. The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which declined to pause Cobb’s order and set the case for argument in January 2026.
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On June 29, the Supreme Court again allowed Cook to remain in office by a 5-4 vote. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, stating, “The President failed to afford Cook the procedural protections to which she was entitled by statute. Without such protections, she could not properly dispute the charges the President laid against her.”
Committee Formation and Next Steps
Following the court’s decision, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino notified Cook in an August 5 letter that Trump was considering her removal. Scavino gave Cook 21 days to respond to the allegations. In her August 27 response, Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, called the allegations “unfounded and untrue,” arguing any effort to fire Cook would undermine the Federal Reserve’s independence.
Trump’s newly formed committee includes three senior officials: Kevin Hassett, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; Andrea Lucas, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and Keith Sonderling, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics and Secretary of Labor. The committee will hold a closed-door hearing at the White House on November 5, where Cook may present arguments and evidence. If Cook submits a post-hearing statement by November 10, the committee will provide written findings and a recommendation on her removal “as soon as practicable.”
This case shows ongoing tension between presidential authority and the independence of federal institutions like the Federal Reserve.
