Trump administration live updates: Legal battle over attempted firing of the Federal Reserve's Lisa Cook begins
A hearing over Trump’s attempt to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve over allegations of mortgage fraud is set to kick off at 9:30 a.m.
Opening motions will come as Federal Housing Finance Authority Chief Bill Pulte said late yesterday the administration was opening a second “criminal referral” accusing Cook of “misrepresentations” about properties she owns to the federal government.
Abbe Lowell, Cook’s attorney, called the move “an obvious smear campaign aimed at discrediting Gov. Cook by a political operative” who is demanding action “before any review of the facts or evidence.”
“Nothing in these vague, unsubstantiated allegations has any relevance to Gov. Cook’s role at the Federal Reserve, and they in no way justify her removal from the Board,” Lowell said.
Trump has called on the central bank to lower interest rates to boost economic growth, something some economists have said is premature given lingering threats from inflation as a result of his tariffs.
Cook’s firing from the Fed, if successful, “would create the second vacancy on the board in less than a month and would allow the president to move that body in a direction more to his liking,” Michael Feroli, JPMorgan chief U.S. economist, said in a note to clients.
Economists have warned that undermining the central bank’s independence can lead to worsening inflation. Some, including Vice President JD Vance, have pushed back on that charge, arguing that central banks should be responsible to the electorate.
“If the president were successful, the outcome would be momentous,” Feroli added.