President Donald Trump has created a committee of inquiry to help determine whether Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook should be fired. Trump has accused Cook of mortgage fraud and ordered her removal in 2025, but the Supreme Court blocked that effort on procedural grounds while allowing him to try again. Trump told Cook in August that he was considering another removal attempt, and her attorneys denied the allegations and said he lacked cause to dismiss her.
Cook is expected to attend a White House hearing on Nov. 5 with an attorney. The committee will consider the allegations and her response, and Cook will have until Nov. 10 to submit additional information. It will then recommend whether there is cause for removal, while Trump will make the initial decision without a specified deadline.
Cook’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, said she welcomes the chance to present facts they say will clear her name, but they question whether the proceeding will comply with the law. The Supreme Court has said Cook is entitled to notice, an explanation of the evidence and an opportunity to defend herself, but not necessarily a personal audience with the president or a full judicial trial. The court also said the seriousness of the alleged misconduct and any connection to Cook’s professional duties are relevant to whether cause exists.
The committee’s recommendation may not end the dispute because the Supreme Court’s ruling allows review of the president’s determination. Justice Department officials may question Cook, and it remains unclear whether her answers would be protected from use in a later criminal case. The Fifth Amendment can protect compelled statements by government employees, but it is unsettled whether this proceeding would qualify; seeking immunity or invoking that protection would not legally establish guilt.
Trump has not made another attempt to fire Cook, and she would likely remain on the Federal Reserve during court challenges. The committee does not immediately affect former Chair Jerome Powell, who remains a voting governor through January 2028 after his chairmanship ended in May. A separate investigation involving Powell ended without criminal charges, while the White House criticized Governor Michael Barr over his role as the Fed’s top bank regulator during Silicon Valley Bank’s 2023 failure but did not call for his resignation.