Lisa Cook rejects Trump's renewed bid to remove her from the Fed
Why it matters: Another removal fight could test legal limits on White House power over an independent central bank before the Fed's Sept. 15-16 meeting.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook pushed back on President Donald Trump's renewed effort to remove her, with her lawyer telling the White House that mortgage fraud allegations against her are "unfounded and untrue." In a five-page letter sent Wednesday to White House counsel David Warrington, attorney Abbe Lowell argued the accusations do not show intentional wrongdoing and do not meet the Federal Reserve Act's standard for removal for cause. Trump first tried to fire Cook in August 2025 after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte referred the matter to the Justice Department. The Supreme Court blocked that move in June but left room for another attempt if Cook had notice and a chance to respond. Cook, a Biden appointee whose term runs to 2038, has not been criminally charged.