A new legal battleground is taking shape in Washington, and Abbe Lowell—the veteran attorney with a résumé stacked with high-profile political fights—has stepped to the front lines.
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and CDC Director Susan Monarez, both facing removal attempts under Donald Trump’s administration, have turned to Lowell’s newly launched law firm for protection. Cook has already gone to court, challenging Trump’s bid to fire her over mortgage fraud allegations. Monarez, accused of resisting “unscientific directives” pushed from the top, has also sought Lowell’s counsel alongside national security lawyer Mark Zaid.
The stakes are enormous. Cook, appointed in 2022 and the first African-American woman on the Fed’s governing board, argues Trump has no authority to oust her from an institution designed to be insulated from politics. Her lawsuit, co-filed with Norm Eisen, blasts the move as both “unprecedented and illegal.” Trump insists he has “sufficient cause,” pointing to loan documents from years past—an allegation Cook flatly denies.
Monarez’s case has not yet reached the courts, but the firestorm around her removal highlights a broader campaign targeting officials unwilling to bend to political pressure.
Lowell’s decision earlier this year to leave big law partnerships and start his own firm now seems prescient. His roster is stacked with heavyweights—Hunter Biden, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and even figures entangled in the January 6 prosecutions. Few attorneys move so fluidly across political divides, but Lowell has built a reputation as the lawyer called when careers, reputations, and legacies hang in the balance.
And the firm itself is a statement: staffed with defectors from elite firms that once bowed to Trump’s executive orders, it positions itself as a safe harbor for those who refuse to.
With lawsuits stacking up and high-ranking officials rallying to his side, Lowell’s new venture isn’t just a law practice—it’s becoming a shield for Washington’s embattled establishment in its collision course with Trump’s second administration.
