Fed's Cook lawyer pushes back on Trump's removal attempt

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook is pushing back against President Donald Trump's latest attempt to remove her from her position, with her lawyer questioning the objectivity of a White House probe into allegations of mortgage fraud. In a letter to the White House, Cook's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, stated that the governor would be unable to attend a hearing scheduled for November 5 due to her duties at financial and monetary policy meetings in Europe.

Lowell indicated that the earliest a hearing could take place would be after the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on December 8-9. Trump has been trying to fire Cook for over a year, asserting that the central bank is refusing to lower interest rates for political reasons. He has initiated a new inquiry into Cook, whose lawyers have previously stated that any fair hearing would demonstrate no legal basis for her dismissal.

Earlier this month, the White House informed Cook that the president was "considering" her removal due to alleged false statements on mortgage agreements, giving her an opportunity to respond. The Supreme Court previously upheld procedural protections against at-will removal by a president in a 5-4 ruling, leaving open the question of whether wrongdoing could serve as cause for termination if Cook was given a chance to defend herself.