Trump Restarts His Effort to Fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, Giving Her 21 Days to Answer Mortgage Allegations

The White House has restarted its effort to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Dan Scavino, who heads the Office of Presidential Personnel, wrote to Cook this week that there is sufficient reason to believe she made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements, and set a 21-day deadline for a written response. The letter, obtained by Politico, acknowledges that the Supreme Court held in June that Cook is entitled to notice of the allegations against her and an opportunity to respond before any removal.

Whether a president may remove a Federal Reserve governor goes to the independence of the central bank, an arrangement courts have treated as distinct from ordinary executive-branch appointments.

The Supreme Court blocked Trump's first attempt to remove Cook in a 5-4 decision in June, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing that the Court had addressed only the appropriate legal standards and not the underlying facts. Cook's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said the allegations are as baseless now as they were a year ago and that they will challenge what he called the latest pretext.