Trump Creates Lisa Cook Inquiry Committee in Renewed Bid to Remove Fed Governor/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ President Donald Trump established a committee Friday to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook made false statements on mortgage applications. His memorandum calls for Cook to attend a private White House hearing Nov. 5, with a transcript published afterward. Cook denies wrongdoing, and her attorneys are evaluating the process following a Supreme Court ruling that allowed her to remain in office.
Quick Look
- New inquiry: Trump created a committee to examine mortgage application allegations against Cook.
- Hearing date: His memo directs her to appear at the White House Nov. 5.
- Public access: The hearing would be closed, but a transcript would be released.
- Defense response: Cook’s lawyers say she welcomes a chance to present facts but question whether the process will be genuine.
- Court background: The Supreme Court ruled in June that Cook could retain her position while leaving room for another removal attempt with proper procedures.
- Legal status: Cook denies wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
Deep Look
Trump Establishes Committee to Investigate Lisa Cook
President Donald Trump renewed his effort to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook Friday, establishing a “committee of inquiry” to investigate allegations involving her mortgage applications.
A presidential memorandum calls for a Nov. 5 hearing at the White House and says Cook “shall” attend to answer the committee’s questions.
The hearing would not be public, although a transcript would be published afterward.
The initiative marks another stage in the first presidential attempt to remove a Fed governor in the central bank’s 113-year history.
White House Demand Raises Fed Independence Concerns
The demand that Cook testify before a presidential committee is likely to renew concerns about the Federal Reserve’s independence.
Trump has urged the central bank to lower its benchmark interest rate. Instead, the Fed raised it last month under Chairman Kevin Warsh, whom Trump appointed earlier this year.
“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 wrote in the memorandum.
Cook’s Attorneys Evaluate Proposed Hearing
Cook’s lawyers, Abbe Lowell and Norman Eisen, said they were considering whether she would attend the hearing and respond to the allegations.
“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,” they said in a statement. “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.”
Cook denies wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
Mortgage Applications Underlie Removal Effort
Trump first attempted to fire Cook in August 2025, alleging she committed mortgage fraud by identifying two properties as her “primary” residence in 2021 loan applications.
Loans for primary residences can carry lower interest rates or other favorable terms.
Lowell and Eisen have previously described the discrepancy as an “inadvertent error” and said Cook identified one property as a vacation home in other documents.
“An inadvertent error is not fraud, as the President and a third of his cabinet should know because they reportedly did the same thing,” the attorneys said in August.
Cook Participated in Unanimous September Rate Increase
Trump and some economic advisers have blamed the Fed’s broader rate-setting committee for the recent increase in borrowing costs.
That committee includes 19 officials, with 12 voting members. Cook holds a voting seat as a member of the Fed’s seven-member Board of Governors.
The Sept. 16 decision to raise rates was unanimous.
Supreme Court Left Open Another Removal Attempt
The new inquiry follows a June Supreme Court ruling allowing Cook to remain in her job after Trump’s earlier attempt to dismiss her.
A footnote in the ruling said nothing prevented the president from “trying again,” provided Cook received proper notice and an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
Trump’s committee and proposed hearing represent his latest attempt to pursue her removal following that decision.
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