{"id":214767,"date":"2025-09-10T05:59:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T05:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/214767\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T05:59:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T05:59:17","slug":"court-rules-lisa-cook-can-remain-a-fed-governor-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/214767\/","title":{"rendered":"Court rules Lisa Cook can remain a Fed governor for now"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A federal court ruled Tuesday that embattled Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook<\/a> can remain in her position while she fights President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to fire her<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The ruling, which will almost certainly be appealed, is a blow to the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to assert more control over the traditionally independent Fed, which sets short-term interest rates to achieve its congressionally mandated goals of stable prices and maximum employment. Congress has also sought to insulate the Fed from day-to-day politics. <\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb late Tuesday granted Cook\u2019s request for a preliminary injunction blocking her firing while the dispute makes its way through the courts. Cobb ruled that Cook would likely prevail in the lawsuit she filed late last month<\/a> to overturn her firing. <\/p>\n

Trump said he was firing Cook on Aug. 25<\/a> over allegations raised by one of his appointees that she committed mortgage fraud related to two properties she purchased in 2021, before she joined the Fed. Cook is accused of saying two properties were \u201cprimary residences,\u201d which could have resulted in lower down payments and mortgage rates than if either was designated a second home or investment property. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Norm<\/p>\n

Norm Eisen, left, and Abbe Lowell attorneys of Lisa Cook, a governor on the Federal Reserve Board, walk out of the federal courthouse in Washington, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana, File)<\/p>\n

Norm Eisen, left, and Abbe Lowell attorneys of Lisa Cook, a governor on the Federal Reserve Board, walk out of the federal courthouse in Washington, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana, File)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Cobb ruled that the allegations likely weren\u2019t sufficient legal cause to fire her. Under the law governing the Fed, governors can only be removed \u201cfor cause,\u201d which Cobb said was limited to actions taken during a governor\u2019s time in office. <\/p>\n

The \u201cremoval of a Federal Reserve Governor extends only to concerns about the Board member\u2019s ability to effectively and faithfully execute their statutory duties, in light of events that have occurred while they are in office,\u201d Cobb wrote. Cobb was appointed by former President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump has not stated a legally permissible cause for Cook\u2019s removal,\u201d the ruling added. <\/p>\n

The decision means Cook will be able to participate in the Fed\u2019s Sept. 16-17 meeting, when it is expected to reduce its key short-term rate by a quarter-point to between 4% and 4.25%. <\/p>\n

Federal Reserve governors aren\u2019t like cabinet secretaries and the law doesn\u2019t allow a president to fire them over policy disagreements or because he simply wants to replace them. Congress sought to insulate the Fed from political pressure, the court noted, by giving Fed governors long, staggered terms that make it unlikely a president can appoint a majority of the board in a single term. <\/p>\n

\u201cAllowing the President to unlawfully remove Governor Cook on unsubstantiated and vague allegations would endanger the stability of our financial system and undermine the rule of law,\u201d Cook\u2019s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a written statement. \u201cGovernor Cook will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed Board Governor.\u201d <\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately comment.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

From left, Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Board of Governors member Lisa Cook listen during an open meeting of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve, June 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, File)<\/p>\n

From left, Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Board of Governors member Lisa Cook listen during an open meeting of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve, June 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein, File)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The court also directed the Fed\u2019s board of governors and its chair, Jerome Powell, \u201cto allow Cook to continue to operate as a member of the Board for the pendency of this litigation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lowell had argued in court filings that Cook was entitled to a hearing and a chance to respond to the charges before being fired, but was not provided either. The court agreed that she was not provided due process by the administration. Her lawsuit denied the charges but did not provide more details.<\/p>\n

The case could become a turning point for the 112-year-old Federal Reserve. No president has sought to fire a Fed governor before. Economists prefer independent central banks<\/a> because they can do unpopular things like lifting interest rates to combat inflation more easily than elected officials.<\/p>\n

Many economists worry that if the Fed falls under the control of the White House, it will keep its key interest rate lower than justified by economic fundamentals to satisfy Trump\u2019s demands for cheaper borrowing. That could accelerate inflation<\/a> and could also push up longer-term interest rates, such as those on mortgages and car loans. Investors may demand a higher yield to own bonds to offset greater inflation in the future, lifting borrowing costs for the U.S. government, and the entire economy.<\/p>\n

If Trump can replace Cook, he may be able to gain a 4-3 majority on the Fed\u2019s governing board. Trump appointed two board members during his first term and has nominated<\/a> a key White House economic adviser, Stephen Miran, to replace Adriana Kugler<\/a>, another Fed governor who stepped down unexpectedly Aug. 1. The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on Miran\u2019s nomination.<\/p>\n

Trump has said he will only appoint people to the Fed who will support lower rates. <\/p>\n

Trump has repeatedly attacked<\/a> Powell and the other members of the Fed\u2019s interest-rate setting committee for not cutting the short-term interest rate they control more quickly. It currently stands at 4.3%, after Fed policymakers reduced it by a full percentage point late last year. Trump has said he thinks it should be as low as 1.3%, a level that no Fed official and few economists support.<\/p>\n

Powell recently signaled<\/a> that the central bank was leaning toward cutting its rate at its meeting next week. <\/p>\n

Cook is the first Black woman<\/a> to serve as a governor. She was a Marshall Scholar and received degrees from Oxford University and Spelman College, and prior to joining the board she taught at Michigan State University and Harvard University\u2019s Kennedy School of Government.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP writer Will Weissert contributed to this report. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A federal court ruled Tuesday that embattled Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":214768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[100654,75620,64,356,84,69,12042,455,57,142,104802,82,362,50417,27195,50,80,17600,67,370,132,68,93],"class_list":{"0":"post-214767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"category-us","9":"tag-abbe-lowell","10":"tag-adriana-kugler","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-courts","13":"tag-district-of-columbia","14":"tag-donald-trump","15":"tag-economic-policy","16":"tag-federal-reserve-system","17":"tag-general-news","18":"tag-jerome-powell","19":"tag-jia-cobb","20":"tag-joe-biden","21":"tag-legal-proceedings","22":"tag-lisa-cook","23":"tag-lowell","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-politics","26":"tag-stephen-miran","27":"tag-united-states","28":"tag-united-states-government","29":"tag-unitedstates","30":"tag-us","31":"tag-washington-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115178475720451153","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}