Trump Panel to Probe Fed Governor Lisa Cook
On Oct. 9, 2026, the White House published a presidential memorandum, dated Oct. 7, establishing a three-member "committee of inquiry" to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook made false statements in connection with "one or more mortgage instruments" and to report to the president whether there is "cause" to remove her under the Federal Reserve Act. The panel is made up of National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Labor Secretary and acting Office of Government Ethics director Keith Sonderling, and EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. The memo orders Cook to appear at an in-person hearing at the White House on Nov. 5 — two days after the midterm elections — that will be closed to the public but transcribed, and allows her to submit written argument, evidence and witness statements. The move is Trump's second attempt to remove Cook, a Biden appointee, after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 29 that his August 2025 firing denied her the notice and opportunity to be heard the statute requires, while noting nothing stopped him from trying again with proper process. Cook has denied committing mortgage fraud; her lawyers, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, said they were evaluating whether the process "has a possibility of being a genuine one." Senate Democrats, led by Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, called it a pretext for seizing control of the Fed.
“[Statement as Senate Banking Committee ranking member, calling the committee] an illegitimate show trial in his dangerous quest to illegally take over our nation's central bank. … Instead of playing judge in a kangaroo court of his own making, … Trump should end the war in Iran and cancel his chaotic tariffs.”