(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump has revived his threat to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg, a move that could renew a legal fight over the central bank's independence.
In a letter dated Wednesday, Cook was told that Trump is "considering removing" her and gave her until Aug. 26 to respond to allegations made by the White House.
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision in June,
The letter, signed by White House personnel director Dan Scavino, acknowledged that ruling and said "this is your opportunity to respond."
ABC News reported earlier on the new attempt to oust Cook.
In a statement, Cook's lawyer Abbe Lowell said they will continue to challenge the attempt to fire her.
"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," Lowell said in the statement. "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."
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Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump signaled that he would again try to remove Cook from her position. The president and his allies have since cast about for ways to oust members of the Fed's Board of Governors in a bid to appoint new members that are more supportive of Trump's push for lower interest rates.
The three-page letter amounts to an attempt to restart the process of removing Cook. It accuses Cook of "gross negligence" over the mortgage-fraud allegations, which have not been tested in a court of law.
"Even if your conduct does not rise to the level of a felony offense, it appears to demonstrate a level of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator," the letter reads.
Cook was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022 to a term set to expire in 2038.
The administration accuses Cook of fraudulently listing homes in Michigan and Georgia as a "primary residence" to secure more favorable terms on loans when she obtained mortgages in 2021.
Cook has previously said that the claims are baseless and rely on "cherry-picked, incomplete snippets" of documents. The veracity of the allegations was not before the Supreme Court, and Cook has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Close observers of the Fed warn that a successful push to dismiss Cook could open the door for the White House to pursue other governors for dismissal too, allowing the president to nominate replacements that share his calls for lower interest rates.
