President Trump is once again threatening to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud. The move comes just over a month after the Supreme Court blocked Trump’s earlier effort to remove Cook.
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Deputy White House Chief of Staff Daniel Scavino sent a letter to Cook this week, demanding that she respond to allegations that she made false statements on mortgage applications. Those charges were first raised by Trump ally William Pulte, who oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“Even if your conduct does not rise to the level of felony offense, it appears to demonstrate a level of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator,” Scavino wrote.
Cook has denied any wrongdoing.
“These allegations are as baseless now as they were a year ago when President Trump tried to remove Governor Cook and interfere with the independence of the Federal Reserve,” Cook’s attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement. “There is no valid cause for removing Governor Cook. As we did before, we will challenge this latest pretext and preserve her position and the historic role of the Fed.”
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The renewed push to fire Cook was first reported by ABC news.
Trump’s earlier effort to oust Cook came at a time when the president was deeply critical of the central bank for not cutting interest rates more aggressively. He also threatened to fire Jerome Powell, who was then chairman of the Fed. Powell’s term as Fed chair expired in May, though he continues to serve on the board.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the Federal Reserve occupies a special place in the U.S. government and that presidents can only remove Fed governors for cause. It will be up to lower courts to decide whether the allegations against Cook meet that standard.
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