3 hours ago
1
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
President Trump had pressed to fire Lisa Cook before the central bank’s meeting, where the board voted to cut interest rates.
Sept. 18, 2025Updated 12:16 p.m. ET
The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow the president to remove Lisa Cook as a Federal Reserve governor, setting up a key test of presidential power with potentially huge economic consequences.
President Trump has moved aggressively to fire leaders of independent agencies as he seeks to expand executive power and seize control of the federal bureaucracy. His administration has targeted the central bank for months, pressing policymakers to lower interest rates.
The court’s conservative majority has repeatedly allowed Mr. Trump to at least provisionally fire leaders of other agencies without stating a reason, despite statutes passed by Congress designed to ensure political independence. The justices, however, have suggested that the Fed may be uniquely insulated from presidential meddling under the law.
In any case, with the Fed, Mr. Trump said there was “sufficient cause” to fire Ms. Cook.
Justice Department lawyers have argued that the president has the power to fire Ms. Cook because Mr. Trump has alleged that she engaged in mortgage fraud in loan documents she signed before she joined the Fed in 2022. Ms. Cook has not been charged with a crime.
The emergency request to the Supreme Court came three days after an appeals court refused to allow the president to remove Ms. Cook, who was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., while her lawsuit challenging her firing was pending.
A U.S. District Court judge in Washington on Sept. 9 had temporarily blocked Mr. Trump from ousting Ms. Cook. The judge, Jia Cobb, said Ms. Cook could not be removed for conduct that occurred before she became a Fed governor, nor for claims that do not involve her professional conduct.
