Trump Panel to Probe Fed’s Cook in New Firing Bid

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum establishing a “committee of inquiry” to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations she made false statements on mortgage documents — the latest escalation in a year-long campaign to remove her from the central bank’s board NBC News reported.

The memorandum, dated Oct. 7 and posted Friday to the White House website, directs the committee to determine whether there is “cause” for Cook’s removal under the Federal Reserve Act, as construed in the Supreme Court’s June 2026 ruling in Trump v. Cook. No president has ever fired a top Federal Reserve official.

What the Memo Directs

“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby establish a committee of inquiry (Committee) to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook made false statements in connection with one or more mortgage instruments,” the presidential memorandum reads.

The committee has three members, all Trump administration appointees: Kevin Hassett, the assistant to the president for economic policy; Keith Sonderling, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics; and Andrea Lucas, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. No outside or independent arbiters are included, CNBC noted.

Under the memo, Cook may submit a written position statement at least three days before the hearing. She is required to appear and be examined by the committee, and may present argument, written evidence, and written witness statements. The committee must provide her with the evidence it is considering before the hearing. The hearing is set for Nov. 5 at the White House — two days after the midterm elections — and will be closed to the public but transcribed, with a four-hour limit. Cook may file a post-hearing statement by Nov. 10, after which the committee will submit findings of fact and conclusions of law and recommend whether cause exists to remove her.

A Year of Escalation

The dispute traces to August 2025, when Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte alleged Cook committed mortgage fraud by listing two properties — in Georgia and Michigan — as her primary residence and failing to report rental income on her Atlanta property. Trump amplified the allegations and abruptly attempted to fire her, citing a “criminal referral” he said Pulte had sent to the Justice Department.

Documents obtained and reviewed by NBC News later revealed that Cook had declared the property in question a “vacation home,” not her primary residence. Cook has consistently maintained she did nothing wrong.

Cook sued, and a federal court temporarily barred Trump from firing her. In June 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to let Cook remain in her job for now, holding that Trump’s first attempt violated her right to an opportunity to defend herself. Critically, the justices did not permanently block a future removal — they outlined steps any new attempt would require. In August 2026, White House aide Dan Scavino sent Cook a letter saying Trump was again “considering” firing her.

Cook’s Lawyers Skeptical

Cook’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, said Friday they have engaged with the White House to evaluate whether the process “has a possibility of being a genuine one and not simply a box checking exercise.”

“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,” they 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.”

Lowell previously argued that any mortgage discrepancy was an inadvertent error, not fraud. “An inadvertent error is not fraud, as the President and a third of his cabinet should know because they reportedly did the same thing,” he said in August. “These attacks on Governor Cook are not about real estate paperwork; they are an attempt by President Trump to force the Federal Reserve to bend to his will.”

That argument points to a 2025 ProPublica report finding that former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin all called more than one property their “primary residence” on mortgage applications. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly has a similar situation.

Democrats and Precedent

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, called the panel “an illegitimate show trial in his dangerous quest to illegally take over our nation’s central bank.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump “is escalating his smear campaign against Lisa Cook” and is “trying to seize control of the Fed.”

CNBC noted the move has not been used in nearly a century. There is no modern precedent for such a committee, though past presidents convened similar panels: William Taft in 1912 to investigate the Board of United States General Appraisers, and Herbert Hoover in 1931 to probe statements by the president of the Navy League. The Supreme Court cited Taft’s committee in its June ruling.

Why It Matters

Congress created the Federal Reserve as an independent, nonpartisan institution, and economists widely agree that a central bank insulated from political pressure is essential for economic stability. Under the Federal Reserve Act, a president may remove a governor only “for cause.”

Trump’s pressure on the Fed has run parallel to a broader push for lower interest rates. Under his handpicked chair, Kevin Warsh, the Fed voted at its last meeting to raise rates amid elevated inflation stemming from the war in the Middle East — drawing White House ire just over a month before the midterms. Trump has separately attacked Fed Governor Jerome Powell over alleged cost overruns on a headquarters construction project; an inspector general’s report found no wrongdoing, and the Justice Department said it is not reopening a criminal probe.

What’s Next

Cook’s scheduled Nov. 5 hearing falls two days after voters go to the polls, a timing that keeps the controversy front and center through the midterms. The committee’s findings — and any resulting attempt to remove Cook — would almost certainly face immediate legal challenge, returning the question to the courts that already declined to permanently resolve it.

For now, Cook remains on the board with a permanent vote on interest rates. Whether the panel produces a genuine, defensible finding or a predetermined outcome is the central question her lawyers have already placed before the public — and likely, soon, before a judge.