President Donald Trump is trying again to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the firing in June.
The correspondence, dated Aug. 5, signed by Daniel Scavino, Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, asks Cook to “provide a written response with your explanation for your false statements and accompanying evidence within 21 days.”
Cook’s attorneys, Abbe D. Lowell and Norm Eisen, said in a statement the allegations are “baseless.”
“These allegations are as baseless now as they were a year ago when President Trump tried to remove Governor Cook and interfere with the independence of the Federal Reserve. No matter what President Trump tries to do next, this much is clear under the facts and Supreme Court precedent—there is no valid cause for removing Governor Cook. As we did before, we will challenge this latest pretext and preserve her position and the historic role of the Fed,” they said.
Trump said at the time that he complied with the Federal Reserve Act, adding the law allows presidents to remove members “for cause.”
It was the first time since 1913, when the central bank was created, that a president had tried to remove a Fed governor.
The letter says Cook, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022, had known about the allegations since at least August 2025, and has “never provided an explanation for this serious misconduct, despite having ample opportunity to do so.”
The letter recounts the allegation that in mid-2021, Cook signed mortgage documents claiming two separate properties as her primary residence at around the same time—one in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and another in Atlanta, Georgia—arguing this may constitute bank fraud, a felony that could lead to a 30-year prison term.
The Trump administration says the primary residence declaration was false and that it allowed her to obtain more favorable terms. The administration also alleges that the Atlanta property was later listed as a rental property without proper disclosure of rental income.
“Taken together, these acts may be sufficient to demonstrate that you committed a crime, as you appear to have acquired mortgages that do not meet certain lending requirements and could have received favorable loan terms under fraudulent circumstances,” according to the letter. “You signed two mortgages within two weeks of each other, claiming that both would be your principal place of residence within 60 days.”
The letter says even if Cook’s conduct falls short of a felony, “it appears to demonstrate a level of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”
This is the second time this week the president has used workarounds to pursue actions that the nation’s highest court blocked earlier this year.
One of the measures bans birth tourism, the practice of traveling to the United States on a tourist visa with the intention of having a child who is given automatic U.S. citizenship.
Trump called it “a big deal,” and said during the signing ceremony that birthright citizenship has been made into a joke.