Trump mounts new effort to oust Lisa Cook from Fed board after Supreme Court ruling

Washington — The White House has informed Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, that President Trump is considering firing her from her post because of allegations of mortgage fraud, according to a letter to Cook that was obtained by CBS News.

The move comes after the Supreme Court in June blocked Mr. Trump from firing Cook while a legal challenge to her attempted removal last year moves forward. The high court said in its 5-4 decision that the president failed to afford Cook the procedural protections she was entitled to under the law, namely notice and the opportunity to respond to the accusations against her, before she was fired.

Mr. Trump said in the wake of the decision that his administration would “take appropriate action” to fire Cook, and the White House now appears to be attempting to remedy the issues raised by the high court. In the letter obtained by CBS News, dated Aug. 5, White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino laid out the allegations against Cook and set an Aug. 26 deadline for her to provide a response to the claims.

“Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s opinion from June 29, 2026, you are hereby provided notice that the President is considering removing you from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve due to there being sufficient reason to believe that you made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements,” he wrote.

ABC News first reported that Mr. Trump is considering firing Cook again.

The allegations against Cook were raised by Bill Pulte, a senior housing official in the Trump administration, in a criminal referral he sent to the Justice Department nearly one year ago. Pulte claimed that Cook made misrepresentations on mortgage filings related to two properties, one in Michigan and a second in Georgia, before she was nominated to the Fed Board by former President Joe Biden in 2021. 

Cook has denied wrongdoing and she has not been charged with a crime.

Scavino claimed in his letter to the Fed governor that the alleged actions “may be sufficient to demonstrate that you committed a crime.”

“There is a distinct nexus between a basic level of trustworthiness and care in financial matters and the duties of a Member of the Board of Governors,” he wrote. “Because the allegations in the Criminal Referral reflect on your honesty, trustworthiness, and competence to perform the duties of the office you currently hold, the President has determined that there is reason to believe they constitute cause to remove you from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.”

Mr. Trump first attempted to fire Cook last year over the claims she committed mortgage fraud. 

She swiftly filed a lawsuit challenging her removal and asked a federal court to reinstate her to the role. Cook prevailed in blocking her firing in district court and a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court in June also allowed her to remain in her post as a Fed governor as her lawsuit moves forward.

To accept the government’s arguments that Mr. Trump can fire Cook “would in effect transform the Federal Reserve’s for-cause protection into at-will employment — an interpretive leap out of step with the statute Congress enacted and our Nation’s tradition of central banking protected from political interference,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the five-justice majority.

He was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson.