White House Sends Lisa Cook Letter Saying Trump Is 'Considering' Removing Her From Fed Board
The Facts
- The White House sent Cook a letter dated Aug. 5, signed by Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, stating that the president is "considering removing you from your position" on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
- The letter says there is "sufficient reason to believe that you made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements" and gives Cook 21 days — a deadline of Aug. 26 — to provide a written response and supporting evidence.
- Cook has not been charged with or convicted of any crime and has denied the allegations; her attorney, Abbe Lowell, called them "baseless."
- In a 5-4 decision in June, the Supreme Court let Cook remain in her post while her lawsuit proceeds, finding the president had not given her the notice and opportunity to respond that the law required before removal.
- Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a footnote to the opinion that nothing forbids Trump from "trying again" to remove Cook, provided she receives proper notice and a chance to contest the allegations — the procedural gap the new letter appears designed to address.
- The mortgage allegations date to an August 2025 criminal referral to the Justice Department from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who accused Cook of claiming two properties as her primary residence.
- Cook, nominated to the Fed board by President Joe Biden, is the first Black woman to serve as a Federal Reserve governor; she sued after Trump's 2025 attempt to fire her, and the administration is appealing a lower-court ruling in her favor.
- No Fed governor has previously been removed by a president, and the renewed effort could restart a legal fight over the central bank's independence from the White House.
- The letter, first reported by ABC News, became public on Friday; it is the second time this week the administration has restarted an initiative the Supreme Court had blocked, following a new order on birthright citizenship.
Context
Why did the Supreme Court block the first firing attempt, and why is the White House trying again?
The justices ruled 5-4 in late June that Trump had not given Cook the procedural protections she was entitled to under the law — namely notice of the allegations and an opportunity to respond — before attempting to remove her, allowing her to stay in the job while her lawsuit proceeds Aol,CBS News,CNBC. Chief Justice Roberts added a footnote saying nothing prevented Trump from trying again if those steps were taken India Today,Yahoo! Finance. The new letter explicitly cites the Supreme Court's opinion and provides the notice and response window the court described USA Today,Yahoo! Finance.
What are the allegations against Cook?
The administration alleges Cook made false statements on mortgage applications by listing two different properties as her primary residence, which sources describe as a way to obtain lower rates USA Today,HuffPost. The claims originated in an August 2025 criminal referral to the Justice Department from FHFA Director Bill Pulte NPR,HuffPost,Hill. Cook has not been charged and denies wrongdoing NYT,CNN.
What happens next?
Cook has until Aug. 26 to submit a written response and evidence to the White House USA Today,Washington Post. Her existing lawsuit challenging last year's attempted dismissal continues, with the administration appealing a lower-court ruling that went in her favor India Today,Yahoo! Finance. Reporting notes the renewed effort could set up another legal fight over the president's power to remove Fed governors and the central bank's independence Bloomberg Business,Guardian.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- The 5-4 ruling turned on notice and a chance to respond, not immunity, and Roberts's footnote left a second attempt open if those steps are actually followed.
- Where Left and Right split
- A predetermined removal dressed in procedure against an uncharged governor, or a president lawfully completing the steps the Court said he owed her.
How left and right read it
Twenty-one days to answer allegations that have produced no charge and no conviction — that is what a sitting Fed governor, the first Black woman to hold the job, has been given. The Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling found she was denied notice; the footnote inviting another attempt is now being read as a checklist, not a limit. Due process treated as paperwork is not due process. No president has ever removed a Fed governor, and that line should hold.
“President Donald Trump took aim this week at two high-profile defeats at the Supreme Court, treating the justices' efforts to define his power as fresh hurdles rather than the final say.” — Washington Post
The Court's 5-4 ruling didn't say a Fed governor is untouchable; it said the president owed notice and a chance to respond, and Roberts noted in a footnote that trying again was permitted if those steps were followed. The new letter supplies exactly that: the stated basis, and 21 days to answer with evidence. That is the executive working through process rather than around it, and it deserves to be judged as such.
“President Trump is reviving his effort to oust Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, with the White House giving her several weeks to answer mortgage-fraud allegations in the wake of comments from her voicing support of hiking interest rates.” — New York Post
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