Trump Moves to Oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook Amid Rising Tensions
US President Donald Trump has launched a panel to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage application statements, sparking concerns over Fed independence.
Trump Moves to Dismiss Fed Governor Lisa Cook
US President Donald Trump has initiated a new phase in his attempt to dismiss Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook by establishing an investigative committee over alleged false statements she made in mortgage applications. The inquiry will include a hearing on November 5 before the committee at the White House, in which Cook is expected to participate, according to Trump. The proceeding will be closed to the public, though a transcript will be published.
Trump appointed three officials to staff the investigative committee: Kevin Hassett, the President's senior economic advisor; Keith Sonderling, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics; and Andrea Lucas, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to an AP report, Trump's extraordinary move has renewed concerns regarding executive interference in the Fed's operations, especially after the central bank resisted Trump's demands to lower interest rates and even hiked them during its recent meeting led by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, whom Trump appointed earlier this year.
Unprecedented Move and Legal Battles
Trump's attempt to oust one of the Fed's seven governors marks the first time in the 113-year history of the institution that a president has attempted to intervene in its operations in such a manner. Cook was appointed by former US President Joe Biden and is the first Black woman to serve in the position. Trump's effort to remove her follows previous attempts to dismiss other high-ranking African American officials, such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and General Charles Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
As President, it is my duty to ensure that the law is faithfully executed, including through the dismissal of subordinates whom I cannot trust to tell the truth and obey the law, Trump wrote in a memo on the matter.
Cook's attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norman Eisen, stated that they are considering whether Cook will testify before the committee. They noted that they reached out to the White House to determine whether this is a substantive proceeding or a political show. Governor Cook welcomes the opportunity to present the facts and clear her name of any wrongdoing, her lawyers said.