Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook is fighting to keep her seat on the central bank’s board as the Trump administration intensifies its effort to remove her before next week’s pivotal vote on interest rates.
Cook’s lawyers filed a brief Saturday urging a U.S. appeals court to reject the administration’s emergency request for permission to fire her, warning that allowing the president to oust a Fed governor without cause would undermine the central bank’s independence.
“A stay by this court would therefore be the first signal from the courts that our system of government is no longer able to guarantee the independence of the Federal Reserve. Nothing would then stop the president from firing other members of the board on similarly flimsy pretexts. The era of Fed independence would be over. The risks to the nation’s economy could be dire,” the filing stated.
The appeals court gave the Trump administration until Sunday afternoon to respond. The outcome could determine whether Cook is present when the Fed’s rate-setting committee convenes Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are moving to confirm Stephen Miran, Trump’s nominee for another seat on the board, possibly as early as Monday.
Trump has accused Cook of mortgage fraud, claiming she listed two different properties as “primary residences” in July 2021, before joining the Fed. That status can secure lower interest rates and reduced down payments compared with rental or second-home classifications. Cook has denied the allegations and filed suit to block her removal.
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the administration had not met the “for cause” threshold required by law to remove a sitting governor, noting that any alleged misconduct occurred before Cook took office in 2022. The Trump administration quickly appealed, arguing that her past conduct “indisputably calls into question Cook’s trustworthiness and whether she can be a responsible steward of the interest rates and economy.”
If Trump prevails on appeal, Cook would lose her seat at least temporarily, preventing her from voting at next week’s meeting when the Fed is expected to consider lowering its benchmark interest rate. Should she win, the administration could escalate the fight to the Supreme Court.
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The dispute comes as Trump continues to pressure the Fed to slash borrowing costs. Rates have been held steady since late 2024 amid concerns that Trump’s aggressive tariff policies could fuel inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently signaled that slower hiring has shifted sentiment toward a possible cut, and many economists expect a quarter-point reduction to about 4.1%.
Lowering the benchmark rate typically reduces borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans, and business credit, and markets have already begun pricing in a cut ahead of next week’s meeting.
