President Donald Trump’s administration is not relenting in its push to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors. A new appeal was filed on Sunday ahead of the central bank’s upcoming decision on interest rates.
In a submission to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, government lawyers reportedly argued that Cook’s case for remaining in her post “was meritless,” urging the court to recognize the president’s authority to dismiss her. The filing met a 3 p.m. Eastern deadline, one day after Cook’s attorneys countered that Trump had not demonstrated sufficient cause for her removal and warned of severe consequences for the economy if the independence of the Fed were undermined.
The legal battle has now reached historic territory. Never before in the 112 years of the Federal Reserve has a sitting president attempted to remove one of its governors. “The public and the executive share an interest in ensuring the integrity of the Federal Reserve,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “And that requires respecting the president’s statutory authority to remove governors ‘for cause’ when such cause arises.”
The Trump administration’s justification centers on allegations raised by Bill Pulte, a presidential appointee to the agency overseeing mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Pulte accused Cook of claiming both an Atlanta condominium and a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, purchased in 2021, as “primary residences.” He referred the matter to the Justice Department, which has since opened an investigation.
Cook, however, described the condominium differently on official forms. In a loan estimate she called it a “vacation home,” and in paperwork for a security clearance she listed it as a “second home.” Those details cast doubt on claims that she engaged in mortgage fraud.
Cook, who became the first Black woman appointed to the Fed’s board, responded by suing the administration. Last week, a federal judge ruled in her favor, declaring the removal unlawful and restoring her position. The White House immediately appealed and is seeking an emergency ruling that could remove her before the Fed meets this week to consider cutting its benchmark interest rate, with most economists anticipating a quarter-point reduction.
