President Trump has launched a special committee to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook made false statements after the White House accused her of mortgage fraud.
The move was a notable escalation in the president’s repeated efforts to fire Cook, a nominee of former President Joe Biden, after the Supreme Court blocked him from doing so in June.
“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 an announcement dated Wednesday and shared on the White House’s social media Friday.
“To assist me in carrying out that responsibility, the Committee shall investigate the allegations against Governor Cook and report to me whether there is ‘cause’ for Governor Cook’s removal.”
The committee will include Kevin Hassett, Trump’s chief economic aide; Keith Sonderling, acting head of the Office of Government Ethics; and Andrea Lucas, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the press release.
On Nov. 5, the committee will conduct an in-person hearing at the White House to consider the allegations against Cook, according to the announcement.
“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,” Cook’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, told The Post in a statement.
“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.”
Her attorneys added that they have been engaging with the White House to evaluate whether the hearing “has a possibility of being a genuine one and not simply a box checking exercise,” and that Cook welcomes the opportunity to clear her name.
Trump frequently bashed former Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates fast enough, calling him “stupid,” a “knucklehead” and a “numbskull.”
Since Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick to replace Powell, has taken over, the president has shifted gears to blame the “hostile” Fed board for raising interest rates.
The commander-in-chief first tried to fire Cook on Aug. 25, 2025, after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte accused her of committing mortgage fraud.
Cook called those accusations “baseless,” denying any wrongdoing and suing to block her removal.
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court sided with Cook, arguing such a dismissal from the White House could set a precedent that would politicize policy decisions.
But the court effectively handed down a split decision, ruling in a separate case the same day that Trump could fire officials at other independent regulatory agencies for any reason.
At the time, Trump wrote that the case “was sent back by the Supreme Court on a strictly procedural basis.” He also vowed to “take appropriate action immediately to make sure that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions concerning the Welfare of the United States of America!”
Independent analyses have questioned Pulte’s accusations of mortgage fraud, which center on the allegation that Cook claimed both her Atlanta and Michigan properties as her “primary residence.” Reuters reported that Cook had declared her Atlanta house as a “vacation home.”
Cook was appointed to the Fed board in May 2022.
