challenged 's latest attempt to remove her as a , questioning whether a investigation into unproven mortgage-fraud allegations against her can be fair.
In a letter to the White House, her lawyer said she could not attend a set for Nov. 5 because she would be in Europe at financial and monetary policy meetings. The earliest she could appear, he said, was after the Fed's scheduled for Dec. 8-9.
The reviewing her case includes the president's own top economic adviser, who has publicly attacked the Fed, and the president has already said he would fire her if the committee finds . The review is the removal mechanism, not an independent check on it.
That adviser, , has joined Trump in criticizing the Fed, faulting it for an "unusually partisan" board after it raised interest rates to control inflation instead of cutting them as the president wanted.
Trump has signaled how he expects the committee to rule. Asked about the investigation, he called Cook "dishonest" and said that if the committee found cause to remove her, he would "absolutely" fire her.
, a former Treasury official now back at the University of Pennsylvania, called the process "robust," saying the president drew on different parts of the White House and gave Cook several ways to respond.
Cook's lawyers disagree. Lowell said a hearing with biased members, unspecified additional allegations, and no clear schedule for disclosing more evidence does not respect the appearance or history of independence.
Cook is not arguing the allegations are false. Her defense is that the process itself is rigged, which is why the fight is over the hearing's date, its members, and its evidence rules.
Trump has long sought more control over the central bank to lower borrowing costs.