The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to exert greater control over the Federal Reserve, declining Wednesday to allow the immediate removal of Governor Lisa Cook while scheduling oral arguments for January 2026.
In a brief, unsigned order, the Court deferred the Trump administration’s emergency application for a stay, effectively allowing Cook to remain in her position as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors pending the January arguments.
Trump attempted to fire Cook in late August 2025, making him the first president in history to try removing a Federal Reserve governor. The dismissal came amid Trump’s broader criticism of the Fed for not lowering interest rates to his satisfaction.
The president cited allegations of mortgage fraud as grounds for Cook’s removal, claiming she had improperly designated both a Michigan home and a Georgia property as her “primary residence” when applying for mortgages. Cook has vigorously denied these allegations, and her legal team has provided documentation indicating the Georgia property was properly classified as a “vacation home.”
Cook immediately filed a federal lawsuit challenging her dismissal, arguing that Trump lacked sufficient “for cause” justification required under the Federal Reserve Act to remove board members. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issued a preliminary injunction on September 9, 2025, preventing Cook’s removal and finding she was “substantially likely” to succeed in her legal challenge.
Judge Cobb ruled that the “for cause” provision “does not contemplate removing an individual purely for conduct that occurred before they began in office.” The judge also found that Cook’s constitutional due process rights were violated because she was not provided adequate notice or opportunity to respond to the allegations before being fired.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the lower court’s decision on September 15, 2025, in a 2-1 ruling that rejected the Trump administration’s emergency appeal.
