President Trump on Friday said the White House had formed a committee to investigate Lisa D. Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, and would hold a hearing to consider whether to fire her over unproven accusations that she committed mortgage fraud.
The “committee of inquiry” will look into claims that Ms. Cook made “false statements in connection with one or more mortgage instruments,” the White House said in a statement. The hearing, which called for Ms. Cook’s attendance, was scheduled for Nov. 5.
Mr. Trump asked the committee to report back on whether there were grounds for “Governor Cook’s removal” from office. While Ms. Cook was first accused by the White House of mortgage fraud more than a year ago, she has not been charged with any crime.
In a statement on Friday, lawyers for Ms. Cook said they had “grave doubts that this ‘hearing’ is a legitimate one that would conform to the law.”
“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,” the lawyers said, adding that they had been in touch with the White House to assess whether the process “has a possibility of being a genuine one and not simply a box checking exercise.”
They said Ms. Cook “welcomes the opportunity to present the facts so she can clear her name and demonstrate there is no legal basis to fire her.”
Friday’s announcement marked the latest escalation in Mr. Trump’s efforts to fire Ms. Cook from the central bank, something a president can pursue legally only if there is “cause.” That has typically meant malfeasance or a dereliction of duty while on the job.
It came just four months after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Ms. Cook remaining in the job, which she can technically hold until 2038. The justices argued that Ms. Cook had not been given adequate due process before Mr. Trump announced her removal in August 2025, but they left unresolved a number of key issues, including what constitutes “cause.”
Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly sought to pressure the Fed and its members into lowering interest rates, quickly billed the ruling as a procedural setback. That paved the way for further attacks. In August, the administration then restarted the process to try to fire her, claiming that Ms. Cook was “unfit for the office in which you serve as a controlling member of the Federal Reserve.”
At the heart of the matter are allegations that Ms. Cook misled lenders in order to obtain favorable terms on a mortgage.
In 2021, Ms. Cook purchased a condominium in Atlanta, and in at least one document, referred to it as a “primary” residence despite not living there. She also maintained another home in Ann Arbor, Mich., which was also treated as a “primary” residence.
In a formal rebuttal filed to the administration in August, Ms. Cook’s lawyers described the designation on the Atlanta condo as an “entirely inadvertent oversight,” not fraud. The letter also maintained that Ms. Cook had accurately identified it as a vacation home in other records. And, in the process, Ms. Cook’s lawyers argued that Mr. Trump and his other advisers had made similar mortgage errors, pointing to a series of news reports.
The White House’s statement, which was dated Oct. 7, stipulated that Ms. Cook would be “examined by the Committee, its representatives, and her legal counsel, if any.” It would provide the opportunity for her to present her argument and any supporting evidence, and left open the possibility that Department of Justice personnel may conduct questioning.
The committee that will hear Ms. Cook’s case is composed of Mr. Trump’s aides and appointees including Kevin Hassett, his top economic adviser; Keith Sonderling, the acting director of the Office of Government Ethics; and Andrea Lucas, the head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Absent from the announced roster was Bill Pulte, the federal housing director, who has repeatedly attacked the Fed and originally investigated Ms. Cook over her mortgage activity. Mr. Pulte later referred his findings to the Justice Department.
Ms. Cook is not the only Fed official that Mr. Trump has targeted. The president repeatedly attacked Jerome H. Powell, whose term as chair of the central bank ended in May. At one point, the Justice Department pursued a criminal investigation into Mr. Powell and his handling of costly renovations at the Fed’s headquarters in Washington.
The probe was dropped after a number of legal setbacks and widespread opposition by Republican senators, one of whom blocked the advancement of Mr. Trump’s pick to become the next head of the Fed. Kevin M. Warsh eventually took over in May, but Mr. Powell, instead of departing as most chairs do, opted to stay on as a governor. That term does not end until January 2028.
The Fed’s internal watchdog late last month cleared Mr. Powell of any wrongdoing associated with the nearly $2.5 billion project, even as it concluded that the renovations were poorly managed and lacked sufficient budget constraints. Still, Mr. Trump has maintained that Mr. Powell should be “forced to resign” from the board in the wake of the inspector general’s findings.
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