President Trump announced Friday that he has created a new committee charged with investigating year-old allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook committed mortgage fraud by making false statements in one or more loan documents.
In his announcement, Trump said it is his job “to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law.” He asked the newly formed committee to investigate the case against Cook and report back to him whether there is “cause” for her removal.
The committee — which includes Kevin Hassett, Trump’s 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 — is empowered to consult with federal agencies and departments, including the Justice Department, during its investigation, and is tasked with holding an “in-person hearing to consider the evidence and allegations against Governor Cook” on November 5, 2026, at the White House.
An ongoing battle: The unusual move is the latest in an effort by Trump to remove Cook from the Fed board. Trump has long called for the Fed to lower interest rates, and has viewed Cook, who was appointed to the Fed by President Joe Biden, as an obstacle to achieving that policy.
Trump attempted to fire Cook last year, citing the unproven allegations of mortgage fraud, which were first surfaced by Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and a Trump ally. Cook sued in response, and the Supreme Court ruled in June that Trump cannot remove her while the legal issues involved are sorted out.
Trump also clashed with former Fed Chair Jerome Powell, pressuring him to lower interest rates or step aside and accusing him of mismanaging a major renovation project at the central bank’s headquarters. The Justice Department dropped an investigation into the issue, and a Fed watchdog’s investigation recently found that the $2.5 billion building project was poorly managed but cleared Powell and other officials of any criminal wrongdoing.
Noting that Trump has already made it clear that he wants to fire Cook, her lawyers said Friday that they have “grave doubts” about the legality and legitimacy of the new committee and its investigation. “But if it is anything close to objective,” the lawyers added, “the conclusion will be that Governor Cook did not commit mortgage fraud, leaving no cause to remove her from the Federal Reserve Board.”
Kathryn Judge, a Columbia University law professor, said she shares concerns about the new investigation, which she said may be an effort to create the appearance of lawfulness, even if Trump has a desired outcome heading into it. “Part of what the administration is trying to do is convince the public of the legitimacy of a process that may not be all that balanced or all that fair,” she told The Wall Street Journal.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, was more pointed in her criticism of the investigation. “President Trump is convening an illegitimate show trial in his dangerous quest to illegally take over our nation’s central bank,” she said. “Instead of playing judge in a kangaroo court of his own making, Trump should end the war in Iran and cancel his chaotic tariffs.”