Trump schedules White House hearing on Fed's Lisa Cook

President Trump has formed a committee to review mortgage-fraud allegations against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and has scheduled an in-person hearing at the White House, according to a memo posted on the White House website. Trump said Cook would be examined by the committee on Nov. 5, and that the panel would then recommend whether to remove her from the Fed. The announcement marks a sharp escalation in Trump's effort to exert greater influence over the central bank and could lead to the unusual sight of a Fed official appearing at the White House for a disciplinary meeting.

The Fed is designed to operate independently from the White House, a structure economists say is crucial to setting interest rates without political considerations. Trump tried to fire Cook last year, but the Supreme Court ruled this summer that she was not given enough opportunity to present her case. The memo sets out a step-by-step process that appears intended to address the court's ruling. The White House memo says Cook may submit her own position statement and sets the hearing length at no longer than 4 hours.

The committee will include Kevin Hassett, the assistant to the president for economic policy, along with the chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the director of the Office of Government Ethics. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas and the ethics office’s current acting director, Keith Sonderling, who also serves as labor secretary, were both appointed by Trump. A presidential memorandum dated Oct. 7 says Cook shall appear at the hearing and be examined by the committee, its representatives and her legal counsel, if any.

It adds that the committee shall submit written findings of fact and conclusions of law to the president and recommend whether there is cause to remove Cook from her position. The memo says the hearing will be closed to the public but transcribed. In a statement, two lawyers for Cook, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, said they have contacted the White House to evaluate whether the proposed process has any possibility of being genuine and not simply a box-checking exercise.

Cook's lawyers said they have serious doubts that the White House hearing would be legitimate or comply with the law, given President Trump's repeated statements that he has already decided to fire Governor Cook regardless of the facts and evidence. They said that if the hearing is objective, the conclusion will be that Cook did not commit mortgage fraud and that there is no cause to remove her. No president had previously tried to fire a sitting Fed governor, who is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Through her lawyers, Cook has argued in court that the White House did not initially show her evidence of misconduct or give her a chance to respond.

She has also argued that any inadvertent error in her paperwork would not rise to the level of misconduct that would justify her firing. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court largely sided with Cook and ruled that she could not be fired without minimal procedural protections that would allow the evidence to be aired. The court did not rule on whether Cook committed mortgage fraud or whether her mortgage paperwork was enough cause for her removal. The November hearing would bring renewed focus to the Fed’s independence and to Trump’s efforts to increase his influence over how the central bank sets interest rates.

Trump has long said rates are too high and has taken unusual steps to pressure the Fed, including a criminal investigation of Jerome Powell, the former chair. In Trump’s account, Kevin Warsh, the chairman he selected to replace Powell, has been blocked from cutting rates by a "very political" Fed board. Warsh joined other Fed policymakers in voting unanimously to raise interest rates last month. Cook was appointed to the Fed’s board by former President Joe Biden and has a term that runs until 2038.

Last year, Trump adviser Bill Pulte, who leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, produced documents he said showed Cook had listed more than one property as her "primary residence" on mortgage paperwork. Trump later sought to fire Cook over the alleged misconduct, announcing the move abruptly on social media. She sued The Supreme Court sent the case back to federal district court, where Cook’s original lawsuit remains pending, after ruling in a way that blocked her firing. Since that decision, Trump and some of his allies have kept searching for ways to potentially remove Cook from the board.

A Trump aide this summer sent Cook a letter laying out the mortgage-fraud allegations and asking for her response, in what appeared to be an effort to satisfy the process requirements outlined by the Supreme Court. October 09, 2026 14:16 ET (18:16 GMT)