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Sunday, October 11, 2026

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White House · Sunday, October 11, 2026

White House sets up a panel to decide whether to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook; closed hearing set for Nov. 5

The File desk · Oct 11, 2026, 11:14 AM UTC

Status

The memorandum is confirmed. It is on the White House site, dated Oct. 7 and posted later. The mortgage allegations are unverified. The memo does not spell them out.

  • Confirmed

    A presidential memorandum dated Oct. 7, 2026, creates a three-member committee and sets a closed White House hearing for Nov. 5. It was not on whitehouse.gov at Friday's morning check.

  • Unverified

    The allegations that Governor Lisa D. Cook made false statements on mortgage documents are unverified. The memo states them as allegations and does not detail them.

By law, a member of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors can be removed only for cause. In a memorandum dated Oct. 7 and posted later, President Trump created a three-member committee to look into allegations that Governor Lisa D. Cook made false statements on one or more mortgage documents. The committee is to say whether there is cause to remove her. The memo names the members by job title only: the president's top economic-policy adviser, the head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the director of the Office of Government Ethics. It orders Cook to appear at a closed, transcribed White House hearing on Nov. 5, no longer than four hours. The allegations are unproven.

The memo is dated Oct. 7. It was not on the White House presidential-actions or news pages at Friday's 6 a.m. check, so the date line here is dated Oct. 7; posted later. It cites

, as construed in , 146 S. Ct. 2234 (2026). This desk did not open that opinion and does not describe what it held. The statute says a Fed governor holds office for 14 years unless sooner removed for cause by the president.

Cook's written statement is due at least three days before the hearing, which is about Nov. 2. The hearing is closed to the public and will be transcribed. The memo says she shall appear and may be questioned, including by Justice Department lawyers. She may answer in writing afterward, until Nov. 10. The committee may set more procedures. It will then recommend whether to fire her. The attorney general is directed to publish the memo in the Federal Register. A check of public inspection through Oct. 13 did not show it yet.

The Labor Department said Friday that Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling has also been acting director of the Office of Government Ethics since June 2026, a job he still holds along with the Labor post. The memo names that director by title only. It does not name Sonderling.

The File's Sept. 29 story covered Cook's Sept. 28 speech on artificial intelligence and the economy. It did not cover a removal proceeding. No statement from Cook or the Fed was found. The Fed's press feed had nothing on the memo.

What is still unknown or disputed

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Establishment of a Committee of Inquiry to Investigate Allegations of False Statements by Lisa DeNell Cook

    White House · October 7, 2026

    I hereby establish a committee of inquiry (Committee) to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook made false statements in connection with one or more mortgage instruments.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/10/establishment-of-a-committee-of-inquiry-to-investigate-allegations-of-false-statements-by-lisa-denell-cook/

  2. Source 2

    12 U.S.C. § 242

    Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School · October 11, 2026

    each member shall hold office for a term of fourteen years from the expiration of the term of his predecessor, unless sooner removed for cause by the President.

    https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/242

  3. Source 3

    Keith Sonderling sworn in as 31st US Secretary of Labor

    U.S. Department of Labor · October 9, 2026

    In June 2026, President Trump designated Sonderling as Acting Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, a position he continues to hold concurrently with his service at the Department of Labor.

    https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osec/osec20261009

  4. Source 4

    Fed Governor Lisa Cook on AI and the economy

    The File · September 29, 2026

    On Sept. 28, 2026, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook spoke in Oakland on “An Update on AI and the Economy.”

    /story/fed-cook-ai-economy-speech-sept28