WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, Donald Trump announced the creation of a White House “committee of inquiry” to investigate unproven mortgage fraud allegations against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The panel has demanded Cook appear at an in-person hearing on November 5 – despite the fact that she hasn’t been charged with any crime – and left the door open for Justice Department personnel to question her.
The announcement comes four months after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Cook could keep her seat because Trump denied her due process when attempting to fire her in August 2025. Undeterred by that ruling, the administration resumed its removal push, assembling an internal tribunal to manufacture the “cause” required for her dismissal. The move follows a yearlong campaign by Trump pressuring the Fed to lower interest rates, as well as a since-closed DOJ criminal probe into former Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom the Fed’s Inspector General cleared of wrongdoing last month.
“Donald Trump lost at the Supreme Court, and now he’s attempting to build a forum of his own,” said Praveen Fernandes, Not Above the Law co-chair. “This White House committee seems designed for one purpose: to hand Trump a pretext to fire a Fed governor he sees as an obstacle to his demands. Trump is hauling Lisa Cook before a ‘tribunal’ of his own staff even though she hasn’t been charged with a crime, with his Justice Department waiting in the wings. Trump wants to control the Federal Reserve the way he controls the DOJ, and every American with a mortgage, a retirement account, or a paycheck will pay the price if he succeeds.”
The Not Above the Law coalition is co-chaired by Lisa Gilbert, Co-President of Public Citizen; Praveen Fernandes, Vice President of the Constitutional Accountability Center; Kelsey Herbert, Campaign Director at MoveOn; and Brett Edkins, Managing Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Stand Up America.
For questions about our work to hold Trump accountable or to request an interview with a Not Above the Law coalition leader, please email press@focalpointstrategygroup.com.