Supreme Court blocks Trump from removing Fed governor Lisa Cook

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that President Donald Trump cannot remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while her legal challenge to her dismissal moves forward. The decision allows Cook to remain on the Federal Reserve Board for now.

In a 5-4 decision, the court declined Trump’s request to stay a lower court’s ruling that blocked Cook’s removal pending the outcome of her lawsuit. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the court’s three liberal justices — Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The court’s four other conservative justices dissented.

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.

Neither the Federal Reserve Board, Cook nor the FHFA returned HousingWire‘s requests for comment at the time of publication.

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.