Cook argues Trump administration has no legal basis to remove her from Federal Reserve board

Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook on Wednesday pushed back against the Trump administration’s renewed attempt to fire her from the central bank’s board of governors, despite a Supreme Court ruling preventing her removal.

Cook’s lawyers, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, said President Trump has “no legal basis” to remove their client. The Fed governor, who was accused of committing mortgage fraud, said she erroneously referred to one of two properties as a “vacation home,” which she asserted did not rise to the level of justifying her firing.

“An inadvertent error is not fraud, as the President and a third of his cabinet should know because they reportedly did the same thing,” Lowell and Eisen said in a statement. “These attacks on Governor Cook are not about real estate paperwork; they are an attempt by President Trump to force the Federal Reserve to bend to his will.”

Lowell defended Cook in a letter to the White House, insisting there “is no legally cognizable cause for removing her from the Federal Reserve Board,” Reuters reported.

The president pushed to oust Cook after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte issued a referral suggesting she illegally designated her Michigan and Georgia properties as her primary residences to receive lower mortgage rates.

Trump attempted to fire her in August 2025, but the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in June that she can remain on the job. The case moved to the lower courts to allow Cook to press her claims.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the president did not provide her with enough process to contest the allegations but noted that whether Trump can fire her “will depend in part on the underlying facts.”

The president vowed to take “appropriate action immediately” following the high court’s ruling

“The Cook Lawsuit, having to do with her suitability in sitting on the Board of the Federal Reserve, was sent back by the Supreme Court on a strictly procedural basis, we will take appropriate action immediately to make sure that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions concerning the Welfare of the United States of America!” Trump said in response to the ruling on social media. 

A letter obtained by The Hill earlier this month from White House presidential aide Dan Scavino said Trump was “considering” her removal and insisted there was “sufficient reason to believe that you made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements.”

The letter also asked Cook to provide “a written response with your explanation for your false statements and accompanying evidence” by Wednesday.

Her lawyers said the renewed attempts to fire her were “as baseless now as they were a year ago,” accusing Trump of interfering with the Fed’s independence.

“No matter what President Trump tries to do next, this much is clear under the facts and Supreme Court precedent — there is no valid cause for removing Governor Cook,” they said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed.

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