Fed Governor Lisa Cook's Lawyer Says Trump's Mortgage Review Panel Is Biased and Asks to Delay Her Nov. 5 Hearing
Attorney Abbe Lowell objects to Kevin Hassett sitting on the three-member committee. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in June that Trump could not remove Cook without notice and a chance to respond.
The fight over whether President Trump can remove a Federal Reserve governor has reached its next procedural step.
Fox Business reports, citing Reuters, that Fed Governor Lisa Cook's attorney, Abbe Lowell, sent a letter on Oct. 13 attacking the fairness of a White House committee reviewing mortgage allegations against her. He objects to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett serving on the three-member panel, saying Hassett had earlier pressured Cook to take leave and suggested Trump had "cause" to fire her. The other members are the chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the director of the Office of Government Ethics.
Lowell called the process one with "demonstrably biased members, unspecified additional allegations, and an unclear schedule for the disclosure of any additional evidence." He said that does not respect "the appearance or history of independence." He also asked to postpone the panel's Nov. 5 hearing because Cook will be in Europe for official financial and monetary policy meetings and cannot be available until after the Fed's Dec. 8 to 9 meeting. Fox says it is unclear whether the hearing will move.
How the process works. Trump created the committee in an Oct. 7 memorandum. Under it, Cook gets the evidence against her and up to four hours at a closed-door hearing to respond. The panel then recommends whether the president has cause to remove her.
The allegations. Trump has been trying to remove Cook since August 2025. The administration says she listed properties in Georgia and Michigan as primary residences on separate mortgage agreements, and that she later rented out the Georgia property. Cook denies mortgage fraud. Her lawyers say the Georgia designation was an inadvertent error and that she always identified Michigan as her primary residence.
The legal backdrop. In June the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Trump could not remove Cook without adequate notice and a chance to contest the allegations, which Fox says left a possible path to removal. The report notes the dispute carries wider stakes for the Fed's independence from political pressure.
Fox Business said it had asked Lowell for further comment. The report does not include a response from the White House or the committee to his letter.