President Rekindles Effort to Fire Lisa Cook From Federal Reserve Board
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has been told by the White House that President Donald Trump is again considering firing her because of allegations of mortgage fraud
The move comes after the Supreme Court in June blocked the president from firing Cook while a legal challenge to her attempted removal last year moves forward. CBS News reported that Supreme Court said in its 5-4 decision that the president failed to afford Cook the procedural protections she was entitled to under the law, namely notice and the opportunity to respond to the accusations against her, before she was fired.
Trump said in the wake of the decision that his administration would “take appropriate action” to fire Cook, CBS News reported.
Now, the White House appears to be attempting to remedy the issues raised by the high court.
In the letter obtained by CBS News, dated Aug. 5, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino detailed the allegations against Cook and set an Aug. 26 deadline for her to provide a response to the claims.
Letter Details Allegations
“Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s opinion from June 29, 2026, you are hereby provided notice that the President is considering removing you from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve due to there being sufficient reason to believe that you made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements,” Scavino wrote.
Cook’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, said they would “challenge this latest pretext and preserve her position and the historic role of the Fed.”
“These allegations are as baseless now as they were a year ago when President Trump tried to remove Governor Cook and interfere with the independence of the Federal Reserve,” the attorneys said in a statement. “No matter what President Trump tries to do next, this much is clear under the facts and Supreme Court precedent — there is no valid cause for removing Governor Cook.”
The allegations against Cook were raised by Bill Pulte, a senior housing official in the Trump administration, nearly a year ago in a criminal referral he sent to the Justice Department. Pulte claimed that Cook made misrepresentations on mortgage filings related to two properties, one in Michigan and a second in Georgia, before she was nominated to the Fed Board by former President Joseph Biden in 2021.
Denies Any Wrongdoing
Cook has denied wrongdoing and she has not been charged with a crime, CBS News noted.
Scavino said in his letter to Cook that the alleged actions “may be sufficient to demonstrate that you committed a crime.”
“There is a distinct nexus between a basic level of trustworthiness and care in financial matters and the duties of a Member of the Board of Governors,” he wrote. “Because the allegations in the Criminal Referral reflect on your honesty, trustworthiness, and competence to perform the duties of the office you currently hold, the President has determined that there is reason to believe they constitute cause to remove you from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.”
Trump first tried to fire Cook last year over the claims she committed mortgage fraud.
Cook, in turn, filed a lawsuit challenging her removal and asked a federal court to reinstate her to the role. She prevailed in blocking her firing in district court and a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.
In June, the Supreme Court also allowed her to remain in her post as her lawsuit moves forward.
To accept the government’s arguments that Mr. Trump can fire Cook “would in effect transform the Federal Reserve’s for-cause protection into at-will employment — an interpretive leap out of step with the statute Congress enacted and our Nation’s tradition of central banking protected from political interference,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in June for the five-justice majority.
Roberts was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
