President Donald Trump is convening a "committee of inquiry" to look into claims of mortgage fraud brought by his administration against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a Michigan State University economist, with an eye toward potentially removing her from the Fed.
Trump's move against Cook, who has denied claims that she falsified mortgage documents first raised in 2025, comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled 5-4 to block the president's attemptto immediately fire her without any process to determine if he had cause to do so as required by statute. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that such a firing would threaten the nation's central bank's independence from "political interference" and that Trump had "failed to afford Cook the procedural
protections to which she was entitled by statute."
The committee created by Trump is obviously intended to get across that hurdle, though, even with the White House putting a process in place, it's almost certain to be challenged again in court given the fact that Trump had already tried to sack Cook from the board. If that winds up before the Supreme Court again, it could be enough to pass muster with a majority, however.
The allegations surround claims made against Cook, the first Black woman appointed to the Fed's Board of Governors, by Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, in August 2025. Pulte claimed Cook may have committed fraud by falsely claiming on mortgage documents for properties in Michigan and Georgia that each would be her principal residence. Cook said she did not commit fraud and that, even if she had, it wouldn't amount to cause under the statute because she signed those documents before joining the board, not after, and sued to retain her job.
Those allegations also came at a time when Trump was threatening to fire then-Fed Chairman Jay Powell and insisting that interest rates be lowered, despite the board's traditional independence in setting financial policy for the nation. Powell, who remains on the board, has since been replaced by Kevin Warsh as chairman.
In a memo reported on by various media outlets on Oct. 9 but dated Oct. 7, the president ordered a hearing to be held at the White House on Nov. 5 "to consider the evidence and allegations" against Cook after consulting with "appropriate personnel from executive departments and agencies."
Cook, who was first appointed by former President Joe Biden, would be given the chance to submit a written statement at least three days before the hearing but was ordered to appear for questioning at the hearing, along with her legal counsel. The hearing would be private but a transcript would be made public afterward.
She would then get until Nov. 10 to submit a post-hearing statement. "As soon as practicable after receipt of that statement, the committee shall submit written findings of fact and conclusions of law to me and shall recommend whether there is cause to remove Governor Cook from her position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve," the memo signed by Trump said.
The committee will be made up of Kevin Hassett, assistant to the president for economic policy; Andrea Lucas, chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Keith Sonderling, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics. "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," the memo read.
Cook's lawyers, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, responded by saying that they have "grave doubts" that the hearing will be a "legitimate one that would conform to the law," given that Trump has already said repeatedly he had decided to fire her without such a process. "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," they said.
"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," Lowell and Eisen added. "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.”
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump creates White House panel to investigate Fed Governor Lisa Cook
