Key facts
- The New York Times reported the December 14 date, citing an unnamed White House official.
- Cook's lawyer Abbe Lowell did not respond to a request for comment, the report said.
- Kevin Hassett told Bloomberg TV that Cook's lawyers had agreed to a December hearing date.
- Hassett sits on a three-person committee Trump formed to hold the hearing and recommend whether Cook should be fired.
- Cook denies any wrongdoing in the mortgage fraud allegations.
The White House has scheduled a December 14 hearing into allegations of mortgage fraud by Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the New York Times reported on November 4, citing an unnamed White House official. The step is a new phase of President Donald Trump's effort to fire her.
Cook's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment, the report said. The lawyer had previously raised questions about the hearing's fairness and sought information from the White House about the hearing process before agreeing to a date. Cook denies any wrongdoing.
Trump has been trying to fire Cook for more than a year, one of several attempts to exert control over the Fed during his second presidential term. No president has ever removed a US central banker, according to the report.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that Trump cannot fire a Fed governor "at will" but may be able to if he gives her a chance to defend herself.
Trump's top economic aide, Kevin Hassett, told Bloomberg TV last week that Cook's lawyers had agreed to a date in December for what he said would be a fair hearing. Hassett is on a three-person committee Trump formed to hold the hearing and recommend whether she should be fired.
Cook's lawyer Abbe Lowell told the White House last month that she would not be available for its initially announced November 5 hearing date and would be unable to attend until after the Fed's December 8 to 9 policy-setting meeting.