Topline
President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to let him fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, calling on justices to pause a lower court ruling that blocked the termination, as the president continues his efforts to fire Cook despite reports showing she did not have the improper mortgage applications the Trump administration claimed.
Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook at an open meeting of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve on June 25, 2025, in Washington.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Facts
Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause an appeals court ruling that found he did not have the authority to fire Cook, after the president said he was firing the Fed governor over alleged issues with her mortgage filings.
Federal law only allows Trump to fire members of the Federal Reserve’s board “for cause,” which typically refers to some kind of gross misconduct, and two federal courts have now ruled that Cook could only be fired for some kind of issue with her job performance at the Fed, and not for any personal issues with her mortgage.
Trump claims he did fire Cook “for cause,” however, pointing to the board member’s role overseeing monetary policy and arguing to the Supreme Court that “strong concerns about the appearance of mortgage fraud … satisfies any conception of cause.”
Cook has strongly denied any wrongdoing, and recent reports indicate she did not claim two properties as primary residences as the Trump administration had claimed, with Reuters reporting Cook correctly labeled her home in Atlanta as being a “vacation home” on a loan application, and officials in Michigan confirming there was no impropriety regarding her other residence in Ann Arbor.
The case has the potential to broadly clear the way for Trump to gain widespread influence over government boards that have historically been independent, as it gives the Supreme Court an opportunity to fully overturn a 90-year old precedent that largely shields independent agencies from political influence.
What To Watch For
It’s still unclear how the Supreme Court will rule on the Cook dispute, and when a ruling could come out. Trump has so far only asked the court to issue a temporary ruling that would allow him to fire Cook while the litigation keeps playing out in the lower courts, so that means any ruling the court makes now on Cook’s job could still be changed in the future.
How Could The Supreme Court Rule?
It’s unclear. Despite the longstanding legal precedent broadly preventing presidents from firing members of independent boards, the 6-3 conservative court has so far allowed Trump to fire other board members anyway, issuing multiple rulings that have cleared the way for the president to carry out high-profile firings. Justices have suggested they don’t think Trump should have the same sway over the Federal Reserve, however, writing in a ruling that greenlit other firings that the Fed is “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States.” It remains to be seen whether the court will still take that view in this dispute, however, or if justices will ultimately decide to defer to the president.
What Are The Allegations Against Lisa Cook?
Trump’s decision to fire Cook stems from allegations by Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who claimed the Fed governor improperly claimed two properties as being her “primary” residence in 2021, before she was appointed to the Fed board. Doing so may have allowed her to obtain more favorable mortgage rates than if they had been listed as vacation or investment properties. Experts have said Pulte’s allegations do not provide enough information to successfully show Cook committed fraud, however, and Reuters’ reporting counters Pulte’s claims. While Pulte pointed to paperwork showing Cook took out loans on her properties that are meant for “primary residences,” Reuters notes those documents say they’re for primary residences “unless Lender otherwise agrees in writing,” which appears to be the case here. Other documentation shows Cook appeared to tell the lender she intended to use her Atlanta property as a vacation home, meaning she did not falsely claim it would be used as a primary residence. Officials in Michigan also separately told Reuters that Cook did not violate any property tax exemptions she received for her property in the state by living elsewhere at times.
Key Background
Trump announced his intention to fire Cook in late August, setting off a legal battle as the Fed governor challenged her firing in court. While Trump has claimed his decision was based on the alleged issues with Cook’s mortgage applications, the termination has widely been viewed as a way for the president to exert greater control over the historically independent Federal Reserve, as the president has long publicly pushed for the Fed to lower interest rates and floated firing chair Jerome Powell. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled in Cook’s favor and blocked her firing on Sept. 9, ruling the “best reading” of the Federal Reserve Act is that Trump can only fire board members on “grounds concerning a Governor’s behavior in office.” Trump then asked a federal appeals court to swiftly step in and allow the firing before the Fed’s meeting earlier this week, but that court also rebuffed his request, keeping Cook in her job when the Fed board met and decided to lower interest rates. Cook is one of several people who the Trump administration has tried to punish using purported issues with their mortgages, also using the tactic to go after longtime Trump rivals like New York Attorney General Letitia James. While no credible evidence of fraud has been found regarding Cook or James’ cases, reports have surfaced in response suggesting multiple Trump Cabinet members and Pulte’s own family members have had irregularities with their mortgage filings similar to the government’s allegations against Cook. The Trump officials have denied any wrongdoing.