Lisa Cook Is Staying At The Federal Reserve After The Supreme Court Blocks Her Firing 5-4

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday that President Trump cannot fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, at least for now, blocking the removal while her legal challenge proceeds through the lower courts.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion, joined by Justices Kavanaugh, Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson. The four other conservative justices dissented.

Trump fired Cook in August 2025, making him the first president in the Federal Reserve's 112-year history to attempt to remove a Fed board member.

The stated reason was allegations of mortgage fraud made by FHFA Director Bill Pulte. Cook denied the allegations and was never charged with a crime.

She immediately sued, and federal courts blocked her removal while the case moved forward. The Supreme Court's ruling Monday keeps that injunction in place.

The majority opinion found that at minimum, Cook was entitled to notice of the allegations against her and an opportunity to respond before being fired, procedural protections the Trump administration did not provide.

Roberts wrote that the court was not deciding whether Trump could ultimately remove Cook for cause, only that he had not followed the proper process.

The Federal Reserve Act allows a president to fire Fed governors "for cause" but does not define what cause means. That question goes back to lower courts.

"This was never about mortgage documents," Cook said in a statement. "It was an attempt to remove me on a manufactured pretext because I refused to bow to political pressure and continued to set interest rates based only on what would best serve the American people."

In a companion ruling issued simultaneously, the court's conservative majority ruled in Trump's favor in a separate case, overturning a 1935 precedent and giving the president broader power to remove members of the FTC and similar independent agencies.

The Fed, the court reaffirmed, occupies a uniquely protected position.