On January 21, 2026, Federal Reserve President Lisa Cook and attorney Abby Lowell will leave the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington.
Kevin Dietch | Getty Images
Lisa Cook’s lawyer has expressed strong doubts about whether President Donald Trump’s commission investigating mortgage fraud allegations against the head of the Federal Reserve is fair and objective.
Attorney Abby Lowell said the committee is plagued by issues that undermine the Fed’s appearance of independence, including “obviously biased members” and “unspecified additional allegations” against Mr. Cook.
Lowell said in a letter Tuesday to Trump aide and adviser Will Scharf that these and other issues “need to be resolved before a hearing can be held.”
Lowell argued that such a hearing cannot be held until at least December, weeks later than originally scheduled.
The letter came three days after President Trump accused Cook of being “dishonest” and accusing her of “automatically voting no,” an apparent reference to the president’s strong desire to oppose rate cuts.
Cook last voted to cut interest rates in December 2025, siding with the majority. The Fed unanimously decided to raise interest rates after its most recent meeting in September.
“She shouldn’t be in a position of importance,” Trump said of Cook in remarks to reporters Saturday after returning from a rally in Tennessee.
In response to Lowell’s letter, White House press secretary Matthew Middleton said Trump was “fulfilling his constitutional obligation to evaluate Lisa Cook’s conduct and qualifications to continue serving as president of the Federal Reserve.”
“The Constitution places a responsibility on the president to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed and that the conduct of the members of the Federal Reserve Board is beyond reproach,” Middleton said in a statement.
An in-person hearing at the White House is currently scheduled for Nov. 5, according to an Oct. 7 presidential memo in which Trump established a “committee of inquiry” against Cook.
Cook’s lawyers did not immediately rule out participation in that hearing, and indeed said that despite their concerns, Cook “welcomes the opportunity to present the facts to clear his name.”
However, Rowell said in a letter on Tuesday that Cook would be unable to attend the Nov. 5 hearing because he was “carrying out his official duties as Governor at the European Monetary and Monetary Policy Meeting.”
Rowell said Cook will then immediately begin preparing for the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting in early December.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request whether the scheduled hearing would be rescheduled in light of Cook’s scheduling allegations.
Mr. Lowell also said he needed time to speak with Mr. Cook about issues raised in recent White House communications and prepare for the hearing, which “will not be possible until Mr. Cook returns, as he is in Asia on assignment for the Federal Reserve.”
“Given all of this (and the court hearing I have scheduled for November), the earliest date for a hearing would have to be in December after the FOMC meeting,” Lowell wrote to Scharf.
President Trump established the three-person commission two months after reviving a longstanding effort to remove Cook, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, from the central bank’s board.
In late June, the Supreme Court blocked Mr. Trump’s first attempt to fire Mr. Cook, ruling that Mr. Cook was not afforded adequate due process under federal law. However, this decision did not stop President Trump from trying again.
“The President is going above and beyond what the Supreme Court required by offering Lisa Cook an in-person hearing in a fair and open process,” Middleton said in a statement.
But Lowell wrote Tuesday that he had serious concerns about the objectivity and suitability of the committee, which is made up of three executive branch officials, including Trump’s chief economic aide, Kevin Hassett.
Rowell cited an economic adviser’s comments in August 2025, noting that Hassett has “already publicly hinted that there is ’cause’ for the president to fire Governor Cook.”
In his remarks, Mr. Hassett also accused Mr. Cook of refusing to step down during the Justice Department’s investigation into mortgage fraud allegations and of “taking a partisan stance that is contrary to the Fed’s independence,” which Mr. Cook denies.
Lowell told Schaaf that this comment suggested Hassett already had preconceptions about the case. “Your contention that the proposed ‘trial’ will be ‘substantive and fair’ is certainly belied.”
“Clearly biased member hearings, unspecified further motions, unclear timelines for the release of additional evidence, and no explanation of why it was not previously submitted are not processes that respect our independent appearance or history,” Rowell wrote.
