Lisa Cook faces Trump panel as lawyers object

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook is set to face a White House committee formed by US President Donald Trump over alleged false statements linked to mortgages, as her lawyers and a senior Democratic senator questioned the legitimacy of the process.

The White House said the committee would hold an in-person hearing at the White House on November 5, 2026, lasting no longer than four hours. The committee is expected to recommend whether there is cause to remove Cook from her position at the Fed.

Trump said in a statement dated October 7 that it was his job as president to ensure laws were enforced, “including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law.”

Cook has rejected the White House's mortgage fraud allegations and has previously said Trump had no lawful grounds to fire her. Her lawyers, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, said they had “grave doubts” that the hearing was legitimate or would conform to the law, citing Trump's repeated statements that he had already decided to fire Cook. They said Cook nevertheless welcomed the chance to present facts and argue there was no legal basis to remove her.

Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, accused Trump of convening “an illegitimate show trial” in an effort to exert control over the independent US central bank.

The committee members include Trump's top economic aide Kevin Hassett, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chair Andrea Lucas and acting Office of Government Ethics director Keith Sonderling, according to the White House statement.

The move follows a Supreme Court decision months earlier blocking Trump's attempt to fire Cook, saying he had failed to give her notice and a chance to respond to the allegations. No president has removed a sitting Federal Reserve governor in the central bank's 113-year history.