In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that President Donald Trump does not have the authority to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for now, rejecting his request to pause a lower-court ruling while her lawsuit challenging the dismissal moves
On Monday, the Supreme Court stopped Donald Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook—for now—leaving the central bank seat in place as Cook fights the dismissal in court.
The justices issued a 5-4 ruling rejecting Trump’s bid to stay a lower federal court decision that had blocked her termination while her lawsuit challenging the dismissal proceeds. The court did not decide whether Trump ultimately can fire Cook or any other Fed governor.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the majority. The five-member majority included Roberts and conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, along with the court’s three liberal justices: Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The four other conservative justices dissented.
The case traces back to nearly nine months earlier. when Trump said he was firing Cook because she had been accused by a Trump-appointed official of committing mortgage fraud before becoming a Fed governor. Cook. for her part. remained on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors after a federal district court judge blocked her removal. and then the Supreme Court also prevented her termination pending the outcome of her lawsuit.
Trump framed the move as punishment tied to the mortgage fraud allegation. But Cook and others believed the real motive was different. They pointed to her refusal—through the first nine months of Trump’s second term in the White House—to vote for interest rate cuts that the president demanded from the Fed.
Under the Federal Reserve Act, the president can remove a Fed governor only “for cause.”
The dispute played out in court during oral arguments on Jan. 21. That day, multiple justices expressed skepticism about the legal foundation presented by the Justice Department lawyer, Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who argued that a president could fire any Fed governor for cause without a judge reviewing that decision.
Kavanaugh directly challenged that approach, saying Sauer’s argument would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve.
Cook’s role carries added symbolic weight. She is the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor. A Biden appointee, she denied the mortgage fraud allegations, which were made last summer by FHFA Director Bill Pulte.
The Supreme Court’s Monday ruling leaves the immediate status quo intact: Cook stays on the Board of Governors while the legal fight continues. The court’s decision does not answer the ultimate question—whether Trump can remove Cook later—but it makes clear that the fight will not end quietly. and it puts the scope of presidential power over the Fed under the brightest possible light.
Supreme Court Trump Federal Reserve Lisa Cook Fed governor Federal Reserve Act for cause mortgage fraud allegation rate cuts central bank independence
So he can’t fire her… but they’ll figure it out later?
I don’t even get it. Like the Supreme Court is just delaying it? Meanwhile the Fed is supposed to be independent but now it’s all politics again.
Wait isn’t she the one who got accused of mortgage fraud? If that’s true I feel like “for now” is the dumbest part. Also didn’t Trump want interest rate cuts? Maybe she blocked him because of her own agenda, not “for cause” or whatever.
Roberts wrote it and it’s 5-4 so of course it’s gonna go forever. I swear these cases never get decided, just stalled until everybody moves on. So in the meantime the Fed governor seat stays open or whatever, and interest rates just keep doing whatever they were gonna do anyway.