US President Donald Trump has launched a formal White House inquiry into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, convening an investigative committee and ordering an unprecedented hearing to examine allegations that she made false statements on mortgage applications according to Reuters.
Trump Opens White House Inquiry Into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
No president has ever attempted to fire a sitting Federal Reserve governor before. The dispute began more than a year ago when Trump posted screenshots on social media of a letter attempting to fire Cook, whom he appointed to the central bank’s board in 2022. Trump alleged that Cook committed mortgage fraud in 2021 by listing two different residences—a condominium in Georgia and a house in Michigan—as her primary home on mortgage applications to secure more favorable terms as reported by SCOTUSblog.
Supreme Court Allows Cook to Remain in Office
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb concluded that Cook was substantially likely to show Trump violated federal law, noting that the statutory authority to remove a Fed governor “for cause” does not extend to pre-tenure conduct, and that the dismissal violated constitutional procedural rights by denying notice and a hearing according to SCOTUSblog.
Lower courts previously allowed Cook to remain in office while she challenged the firing. On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to allow Cook to remain in office. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority that the president failed to afford Cook the procedural protections required by statute to dispute the charges as detailed by SCOTUSblog. Following that ruling, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino notified Cook on August 5 that the administration was considering her removal, prompting a denial from her attorney, Abbe Lowell, who called the claims unfounded and corrosive to central bank independence according to SCOTUSblog.
Committee Schedules Closed White House Hearing for Cook
Kevin Hassett, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the White House National Economic Council; Andrea Lucas, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and Keith Sonderling, Acting Director of the Office of Government Ethics comprise the newly formed three-person committee as reported by SBS.
The presidential memorandum directs the committee to hold a closed, in-person four-hour hearing at the White House on November 5 according to Reuters. During the session, committee members or Department of Justice personnel may question Cook for no longer than four hours, while she will have the opportunity to present evidence and arguments according to Reuters and SCOTUSblog.
Cook may submit a post-hearing statement by November 10, after which the committee is instructed to submit written findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a removal recommendation to the president according to Reuters and SCOTUSblog. The hearing falls two days before elections that will determine partisan control of Congress according to Reuters. Cook’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, stated that any fair hearing would show no legal basis for removal according to Reuters.
