Trump Orders Fed's Lisa Cook to White House Hearing After Supreme Court Blocks Firing

President Donald Trump has ordered Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to appear before a newly formed White House committee investigating mortgage fraud allegations, renewing his effort to fire her after the Supreme Court blocked his earlier attempt.

Under an October 7, 2026, presidential memorandum, Cook must attend a closed-door hearing at the White House on November 5. The three-member panel will examine allegations that she made false statements on mortgage applications and recommend whether Trump has sufficient legal grounds to remove her from office.

Cook's attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norman Eisen, have questioned whether the White House proceedings will provide a fair opportunity to defend her, given Trump's previous efforts to dismiss her. They said they have been communicating with the administration to determine whether the hearing will be a genuine examination of the evidence or merely a procedural step toward her removal.

The committee includes White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, acting Office of Government Ethics Director Keith Sonderling and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas. The hearing will last no more than four hours, during which Cook may present evidence, witness statements and legal arguments.

Cook will have until November 10 to submit a final written response before the panel delivers its findings and recommendation to Trump.

Trump first attempted to fire Cook in August 2025 after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte accused her of identifying two properties as primary residences on mortgage applications filed in 2021. Lenders typically offer more favorable interest rates and loan terms for primary residences, making the accuracy of those declarations significant.

Cook denies wrongdoing. Her attorneys have described the disputed information as an inadvertent error and pointed to other mortgage records identifying one of the properties as a vacation home.

The dispute reached the Supreme Court after U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington blocked Trump's initial dismissal order. Cook challenged the president's action under the Federal Reserve Act, arguing that he had failed to establish legally sufficient cause for removing her and denied her the procedural protections required by law.

The Federal Reserve Act permits the president to remove a governor only "for cause," a protection intended to preserve the central bank's independence. Cook was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022 and reappointed to a term extending through 2038.

In its June 29 ruling in Trump v. Cook, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to keep Cook in office, finding that Trump had failed to provide the notice and opportunity to respond required before her dismissal. The justices also recognized a substantial legal threshold for removing Federal Reserve governors, with the seriousness of alleged misconduct and its connection to official duties among the factors courts may consider.

Cook's disputed mortgage applications date to 2021, before she joined the Fed. If Trump issues another dismissal order following the committee's findings, federal courts could examine whether the allegations satisfy the removal standard under the Federal Reserve Act.

The justices left the underlying mortgage accusations unresolved, allowing the dispute over whether the alleged conduct constitutes sufficient cause to continue through the lower courts.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the Federal Reserve over interest rates and called for greater presidential influence over monetary policy. His attempt to dismiss Cook marked the first presidential effort to remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor in the central bank's history.

The existing litigation remains active. Judge Cobb has set a November 6 deadline for the parties to propose how the case should proceed, one day after Cook's scheduled White House hearing. Her final written response to the committee is due November 10.