President Donald Trump has renewed his effort to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, according to a White House letter seen by Reuters this week. The letter, signed by Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, requests that Cook respond within three weeks to allegations of mortgage fraud. Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, described the allegations as baseless and stated there is no valid cause for her removal.
This development follows a June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that blocked the president’s previous attempt to fire Cook. In a 5-4 decision, the court found that the administration had failed to provide Cook with the procedural protections required by statute to dispute the charges. While the court protected the Federal Reserve’s independence from "at will" firings, Chief Justice John Roberts noted that the validity of the factual dispute remained an open question for lower courts to resolve.
The allegations involve claims that Cook committed mortgage fraud before her tenure at the Federal Reserve. A previous Reuters report noted that local tax authorities in Michigan found Cook had not broken rules regarding tax breaks on a home she declared as her primary residence. Another report indicated she had listed a separate property as a vacation home in lender submissions. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte requested a criminal investigation into the matter last year, though there has been no indication that such an investigation is moving forward.
A person following this case would notice that it centers on the "for cause" removal standard, meaning a president cannot fire a Fed governor simply over policy disagreements. If the administration successfully removes Cook, it could set a precedent for how presidents challenge the tenure of independent regulators. However, legal experts such as Wharton professor Peter Conti-Brown suggest the process of resolving these unproven charges could take a year or more, similar to the duration of the first legal challenge. During this time, the Fed's leadership structure remains subject to litigation.
What happens next depends on Cook’s response to the White House letter, which is due by the end of August 2026. Following her response, the administration will determine whether to proceed with a formal removal action. Because the Supreme Court returned the underlying factual dispute to lower courts, the case may involve further hearings before U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, who previously ruled that attempting to remove Cook without a hearing likely violated her Fifth Amendment due process rights. No specific court dates for these next steps were reported.