US Domestic — 2026-08-08

Trump Renews Effort to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook Despite Supreme Court Ruling

BLUFCook will likely remain on the Fed board through late September, as unchanged allegations and unresolved procedural questions favor protracted litigation over swift removal.

The White House sent Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook a letter dated Wednesday, first reported by ABC News, giving her until August 26 to respond to allegations she made false statements on mortgage applications 12. Signed by Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, the letter states it was issued "pursuant to" the Supreme Court's June ruling, which blocked Trump's first attempt to remove Cook for lack of notice but did not decide whether the mortgage allegations constitute cause for removal 134. The allegations, first raised last year by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, are unchanged from Trump's original effort 4. Cook's attorneys Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen called them "baseless" and said they will challenge the action 12.

Analysis
Because the mortgage allegations are unchanged from the original effort, the confrontation now turns on whether procedural notice alone satisfies the Supreme Court's cause standard, not on any new evidence against Cook. Cook is likely to remain a sitting Fed governor by September 25, 2026, given her attorneys' vow to fight the action and the unresolved question of whether the alleged conduct meets the removal standard. High confidence follows from the consistency of the record: courts have already found once that due process was lacking, and both sides have signaled protracted litigation rather than a quick resolution. The near-term effect is prolonged uncertainty over Fed independence rather than any actual change in its composition.

5 sources