Supreme Court blocks Trump from removing Fed governor Lisa Cook

Roberts wrote that siding with Trump’s request would be “an interpretive leap out of step with the statute Congress enacted and our Nation’s tradition of central banking protected from political interference.”

The ruling does not determine whether Trump ultimately has the authority to remove Cook or other Federal Reserve governors. Instead, it leaves in place a lower court’s order preventing her dismissal while the case proceeds.

In August 2025, Trump announced that he intended to fire Cook after allegations surfaced that she had committed mortgage fraud and misrepresented occupancy requirements on loans for two properties before joining the Federal Reserve Board.

Not long after, the Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation into allegations raised in two criminal referrals sent by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte to Attorney General Pam Bondi and DOJ official Ed Martin.

Pulte alleged Cook falsely claimed properties in Michigan and Georgia as primary residences on 2021 mortgage applications to secure lower interest rates and smaller down payments, despite intending to use them as investment properties.

A second referral alleged Cook improperly classified a Massachusetts condominium as a second home before later reporting rental income from the property.

The referrals prompted Trump to attempt to remove Cook “for cause” on Aug. 25. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case in January, and justices questioned whether misconduct unrelated to a Fed board member’s official duties could justify removal.

A senior official in the Trump administration told HousingWire that it “believes that Lisa Cook will ultimately be indicted for mortgage fraud, which provides ample cause, and today’s decision is ultimately a punt.”

Abbe D. Lowell and Norm Eisen, counsel for Cook, called the decision a “victory” in a statement sent to HousingWire.

“President Trump tried to remove Governor Cook to pressure the Federal Reserve into bending its monetary policy decisions to his political will,” the statement said. “Making unproven allegations of mortgage fraud to justify a power grab has become a pattern of the Trump Administration, but today the Supreme Court said no and agreed with the lower court that Governor Cook can continue serving on the Board and the President has a substantial burden to carry out his plan to remove her. The Fed must operate free from political interference.”

In a separate statement, Cook said that she “refused to bow” to political pressure.

“This was never about mortgage documents signed years before I became a Federal Reserve governor. It was an attempt to remove me on a manufactured pretext because I refused to bow to political pressure and continued to set interest rates based only on what would best serve the American people,” she said.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to leave the lower court’s order in place and affirm the need for real process and real cause recognizes that Federal Reserve independence is essential to fulfilling the congressional mandate of price stability and maximum employment,” she added. “I am grateful for this decision, not for my own sake, but for the sake of the American people, whose economic well-being depends on a central bank that answers to its mission, not political intimidation.”

The Federal Reserve Board declined to comment on the decision.

Cook has remained on the Board of Governors since a federal district court blocked her removal, a decision the Supreme Court allowed to stand while the litigation continued.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from the Trump administration, Lisa Cook and her attorneys.