Lisa Cook given 21 days in Trump Fed removal bid

US Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has been given 21 days to respond to unproven mortgage fraud allegations as President Donald Trump renews an attempt to remove her, according to a White House letter seen by AFP on Friday.

The August 5 letter, signed by Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, says Cook is being notified that Trump is considering removing her from her position. It alleges that she made false statements on mortgage applications, which Cook has denied.

The letter says Cook must respond by August 26. It argues that the alleged conduct was “grossly negligent” and showed she was unfit for office.

Trump previously attempted to dismiss Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor. The Supreme Court ruled in June that he had not given her the procedural protections required by law. The court did not rule on the underlying mortgage fraud allegations.

The court also said Trump did not have power to dismiss Fed governors “for any reason, or no reason,” and made special mention of the importance of the Federal Reserve's independence.

Cook said in a statement reported by US media after the June ruling that the case was “an attempt to remove me on a manufactured pretext because I refused to bow to political pressure and continued to set interest rates based only on what would best serve the American people.”

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said Trump's latest move was another attempt to “illegally take over America's central bank” and said Democrats would fight it.

The Federal Reserve is a non-partisan US central bank that sets monetary policy for the world's largest economy. Its governors are appointed by the president after Senate confirmation.