The White House has restarted its effort to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, sending her a letter that says President Trump is "considering removing" her and giving her until August 26, 2026 to respond or challenge the action [1]. The letter, sent by White House aide Dan Scavino, revives a removal push the Supreme Court paused only two months ago [1].
Cook is a governor on the Federal Reserve Board, one of the officials who sets interest-rate policy. She is not the Fed chair, a position held by Kevin Warsh. The distinction matters because the question here is not who runs the central bank day to day but whether a president can remove one of its governors mid-term over a personal allegation.
The current fight traces to June 2026, when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Cook could keep her seat while the litigation over her removal continued [1]. In that ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts noted that the administration could try again if it gave Cook proper notice [1]. The August letter is that renewed attempt, built around the procedural opening the Court identified.
The underlying accusation is an August 2025 mortgage-fraud claim concerning the "primary residence" designation on two properties Cook owns [1]. That allegation is unproven, and Cook denies it [1]. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, called the new letter "baseless" and said the legal team will "challenge this latest pretext" [1].
What is being tested is the tenure protection that shields Federal Reserve governors from removal at a president's discretion. That protection is the mechanism meant to let a governor vote on monetary policy without fear of losing the job for crossing the White House. Removing Cook by the August 26 deadline, over a contested claim she denies, would establish that a sufficiently documented notice can accomplish what the Court blocked in June.
The stakes fall in two directions. An administration that succeeds gains the ability to name a replacement governor before Cook's term ends, moving the board's composition in its favor. The cost is borne by the independence of the central bank itself: a precedent that a sitting governor can be pushed out over an unproven personal allegation weakens the insulation of every other governor who might rule against a president's wishes.
Cook has not left her seat, and the litigation the Supreme Court referenced remains open [1]. The August 26, 2026 deadline is the next fixed date, the point by which Cook must formally respond or move to challenge the removal in court [1].
