Former White House Aide Urges That Fed Governor Lisa Cook Be Barred From September Policy Meeting

Former White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Wednesday that Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook should be barred from attending and voting at the Fed’s Sept. 16-17 policy meeting after President Donald Trump moved to remove her over allegations tied to mortgage filings.

Kudlow made the comments on the "Pod Force One" podcast in an interview with New York Post columnist Miranda Devine, saying the administration has Cook "dead to rights" on accusations of mortgage fraud and arguing she should not be permitted to participate in central-bank policymaking. Cook sued the president on Aug. 28 seeking to block her removal, and a federal judge this week granted a preliminary injunction that keeps her in office as the legal challenge proceeds.

The challenge to Cook’s status stems from allegations first raised by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who said Cook claimed primary-residence status on two properties—one in Georgia and one in Michigan—when seeking more favorable mortgage terms. Pulte also told officials that a Cambridge, Massachusetts, condominium was listed as a rental on disclosures submitted during Cook’s Senate confirmation process but appeared as a "second home" on mortgage documents between 2021 and 2025. The discovery of those filings prompted referrals to the Department of Justice.

Attorneys for Cook contend the president’s removal of a Fed governor violated her due-process rights and that the purported mortgage errors were clerical in nature. Lawyers for the administration have said the filings were either intentional, and therefore criminal, or negligent, and thus constitute grounds for removal. The court’s preliminary injunction preserves Cook’s membership on the Fed’s Board of Governors while the suit moves forward.

The dispute underscores unresolved legal and institutional questions about the removal of Federal Reserve governors. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 states that governors may be removed "for cause," but the statute does not define what constitutes cause. Kudlow, a former director of the National Economic Council, told the podcast that the president should have broad authority to determine cause, saying, "The President appoints Federal Reserve governors ... therefore, he should be able to fire them." Legal scholars and some past court decisions have taken a more constrained view, holding that statutory protections were designed to insulate central-bank officials from partisan pressure.

The episode also arrives amid renewed political pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell from the White House to ease monetary policy. Trump has publicly urged lower interest rates, and Kudlow repeated that stance on the podcast, saying Cook should be unable to vote at the September meeting. Fed governors and several Reserve Bank presidents will gather in Washington on Sept. 16 and 17 to discuss U.S. monetary policy.

The outcome of Cook’s lawsuit could have implications for central-bank independence and governance. If courts ultimately allow the president to remove a governor on the grounds asserted by the administration, it would mark a notable shift in the balance between executive authority and statutory protections for monetary-policy officials. If the injunction is upheld and Cook remains in place while the case proceeds, the Fed will face the immediate task of conducting its September policy discussions with legal uncertainty surrounding one of its governors.

The Justice Department has received referrals for potential investigation, and the litigation over Cook’s removal is ongoing. The Fed did not immediately comment on the dispute. Kudlow’s remarks were broadcast on "Pod Force One" and reported by the New York Post.