President Donald Trump signed an order Friday directing the attorney general and other top federal officials to create a committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in his latest attempt to fire her.
“Pursuant to the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, I hereby establish a Commission of Inquiry (Commission) to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook made false statements in connection with one or more mortgage instruments,” reads a presidential memorandum posted on the White House website.
He said the committee would “investigate the allegations against Governor Cook and report to me whether there is ’cause’ for Governor Cook’s impeachment.”
“Governor Cook may submit a written position statement to the committee regarding the allegations,” the memorandum states.
The unprecedented White House announcement comes after a senior White House official wrote a letter to Cook in August, saying Trump was considering removing her from the Federal Reserve board.
The White House memorandum said Cook “is expected to appear at the hearing and be considered by the committee,” as well as “present arguments, written evidence, and written witness statements regarding the evidence and allegations.”
The commission is scheduled to meet Nov. 5 for the hearing, two days after the midterm elections. No president has ever fired a senior Fed official.
“In light of the President’s repeated statements that he has already decided to fire Governor Cook – regardless of the facts and evidence – we seriously doubt whether this ‘hearing’ is legitimate and compliant with the law,” said Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, Cook’s attorneys.
“But if it comes close, the conclusion will be that Governor Cook did not commit mortgage fraud, which leaves no reason to remove her from the Federal Reserve Board.”
Lowell and Eisen said they engaged with the White House to determine whether this was a “genuine” process and that Cook “welcomed the opportunity to present the facts so she can clear her name and demonstrate that there is no legal basis to fire her.”
The memo follows a Supreme Court ruling in June, which allowed Cook to keep his job for the time being. But the judges did not stop Trump from firing Cook permanently, ruling instead that she was entitled to an opportunity to defend herself.
Trump’s latest move stems from allegations first made against Cook in August 2025 by the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte. Trump amplified these allegations on social media and, citing a “criminal referral” he said Pulte had sent to the Justice Department, attempted to remove her from the Fed board.
Pulte alleged that Cook committed mortgage fraud, but documents obtained and reviewed by NBC News later revealed that Cook had stated the property in question was to be used as a “vacation home” and not a primary residence.
The Federal Reserve declined to comment on Friday’s developments.
Other top Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, are reportedly in similar situations when it comes to mortgage lending.
Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin all called more than one property their “primary residence” when applying for mortgages, according to a ProPublica report last year.
Cook, governor of the Federal Reserve Board, has a permanent vote on interest rates. Trump and Pulte’s attacks on Cook come amid a long-running pressure campaign by the administration to get the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates.
“President Trump is staging an illegitimate show trial in his dangerous quest to illegally take control of our nation’s central bank,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees the Fed.
“Instead of playing judge in a puppet court of his own making, Trump should end the war in Iran and reverse his chaotic tariffs,” Warren said.
Trump also recently resumed his attacks on another Fed governor, Jerome Powell. Trump claimed on September 30 that the former president was complicit in cost overruns for a construction project at the central bank headquarters. However, an inspector general’s report found no wrongdoing.
Trump responded to the report by writing on social media: “He should be forced to resign IMMEDIATELY! If he does not resign, he should be prosecuted, at the highest levels, by the United States government, for corruption or incompetence.”
Following this publication, Attorney General Todd Blanche told Bloomberg News: “We will not reopen a criminal investigation against him. »
Powell remained on the Fed board despite his term as chairman ending, breaking with tradition. As long as Powell remains a member of the board, the Trump administration is denied the opportunity to appoint a new board member chosen by the president.
Cook has always maintained that she did nothing wrong.
Just a few weeks ago, Cook’s lawyer told the White House a second time: “There is no legal basis for President Trump to impeach Governor Cook for cause.” »
“An unintentional error is not fraud, as the president and a third of his cabinet should know because they would have done the same thing,” Father Lowell said on August 26. “These attacks on Governor Cook are not about real estate paperwork; they are an attempt by President Trump to force the Federal Reserve to bend to his will. »
Lowell said he and Cook were prepared to continue fighting “any illegal attempt to impeach Gov. Cook.”
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