Trump establishes committee to investigate Fed’s Cook

• Key insight: President Trump established a three-person committee to investigate whether Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook “made false statements in connection with one or more mortgage instruments.” The committee will then report to the president as to whether there is “cause” for her removal.
• Expert quote: “As President, it is my job to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law.”

President Donald Trump Friday morning announced the formation of a three-member committee to investigate whether Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook made false statements related to a mortgage application and whether such statements establish cause for her removal from office.

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In a memorandum dated Oct. 7 posted on the White House website Friday, Trump said the committee would be made up of three members: National Economic Council Chair and Assistant to the President on Economic Policy Kevin Hassett, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas and Office of Government Ethics acting director Keith Sonderling, all Trump appointees. Those members may “consult with appropriate personnel from executive departments and agencies” as part of its inquiry, the memorandum states. 

“As President, it is my job to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law,” Trump said in the memorandum.

The panel will also oversee a hearing at the White House to consider evidence against Cook on Nov. 5. The hearing is to last no longer than 4 hours, the memorandum says, and Cook “may present argument, written evidence, and written witness statements regarding the evidence and allegations” as part of that hearing and may present a “written position statement” so long as it is received three days before the hearing. 

Attorneys Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, who represent Cook, said in a statement that the president’s actions indicate he has already made up his mind about her guilt and whether her actions are cause for her termination, making the committee and the appearance of objectivity ring hollow.

“In light of the President’s repeated statements that he has already decided to fire Governor Cook — regardless of the facts and evidence — we have grave doubts that this ‘hearing’ is a legitimate one that would conform to the law,” Lowell and Eisen said. “But if it is anything close to objective, the conclusion will be that Governor Cook did not commit mortgage fraud, leaving no cause to remove her from the Federal Reserve Board. We have engaged with the White House to evaluate whether the process proposed has a possibility of being a genuine one and not simply a box checking exercise.  Governor Cook welcomes the opportunity to present the facts so she can clear her name and demonstrate there is no legal basis to fire her.”

The memorandum appears to compel Cook to testify, saying she “shall appear at the hearing and be examined” by the panel, Justice Department officials and her own counsel. Cook will be provided by the committee with “the evidence it is considering” and may question Cook about that evidence. The hearing will be closed to the public but “shall be transcribed.” 

The establishment of the committee comes after the Supreme Court in June found that the president’s prior effort to remove Cook from the Fed Board in August 2025 violated Cook’s due process rights, noting that the prior effort — informing Cook that she was thereby removed for cause by a social media post — did not afford her an opportunity to challenge the allegations against her. The court did not spell out specifically what the White House would have to do differently to remove her from office, but the committee and hearing process are clearly intended to satisfy the court’s order.

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The move is also likely to reignite concerns about Trump’s efforts to force out sitting members of the Fed’s Board of Governors and replace them with picks whose views on monetary policy more closely align with his own. 

Trump for years has insisted that interest rates should be considerably lower than they currently are, berating former Fed Chair Jerome Powell for much of his tenure for not lowering rates. The Justice Department also launched an inquiry into Powell’s oversight of a renovation project at the Fed headquarters, which the Fed chair himself revealed in January and called a “pretext” for his removal. Powell opted to remain on the Fed board after his chairmanship expired in May due to the inquiry, and the establishment of a process for removing Cook will likely spur him to remain on the board.

The Federal Open Market Committee last month raised interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time since 2023, reversing course from earlier in the year, when the central bank was eyeing further rate cuts after cutting rates three times in 2025. Fed Gov. Christopher Waller — a Trump appointee from his first term — said Thursday that he expects further rate hikes to be coming due to ongoing inflationary pressure from the war with Iran and related disruptions in the energy markets.