Ahead of a hearing Friday morning on Lisa Cook's attempted firing, President Donald Trump has responded in court to oppose her effort to remain in her job — calling her request "meritless" and arguing that the allegations over Cook's mortgages are "more than sufficient ground for removing a senior financial regulator from office."

"The grounds the President cited—evidence of deceitful and potentially criminal conduct—plainly constitute "cause" under any standard," the filing states.
Trump's filing also urges the court that standard for cause is essentially up to him — notably writing, "The President's judgment about what constitutes "cause" is not subject to judicial second-guessing."

The filing also notes that even if Cook's statements "were made inadvertently, they still demonstrate lack of care or negligence with respect to important financial matters."

In a separate filing this morning, Chairman Jerome Powell and the Board of Governors took no position on the issue, but asked the court for a "prompt ruling" and reiterated its "intent to follow any order this Court issues."

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said Thursday night in a post on X that he sent a new criminal referral against Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.

This is the second referral letter FHFA has sent to the Department of Justice about Cook. This one includes allegations related to a third property. The new criminal referral comes as President Donald Trump and other administration officials claim she misrepresented her residency status on applications for those home loans, improperly claiming both as her "primary residence."

"3 strikes and you're out," Pulte wrote in his post. "Today, U.S. Federal Housing sent a 2nd Criminal Referral in the matter of Lisa D. Cook, related to a mortgage on a 3rd property and alleged misrepresentations about her properties to the United States Government during her time as Governor of the Federal Reserve."

--ABC News' Isabella Murray

The DC National Guard has spread a lot of mulch, 380 cubic tons, and picked up trash in Washington, D.C., amid the Trump admin's push to combat crime in the nation's capital.

Troops are mostly staying in hotels and have access to hot meals around the clock, officials said.

The administration said it's not tallying the cost of all this yet and has no idea how much it will cost the federal government.

--ABC News' Anne Flaherty

The Trump administration is preparing for a surge in increased immigration enforcement operations in Chicago next week, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The administration is preparing to expand on the operations in Los Angeles and potentially increase the law enforcement footprint, according to the sources. The operations could start as soon as Sept. 5, the sources said.

A DHS official told ABC News that the DHS is "going to make our streets and cities safe again."

"Across the country, DHS law enforcement are arresting and removing the worst of the worst, including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and rapists that have terrorized American communities," a senior DHS official said.

--ABC News' Luke Barr