Lisa Cook sued President Trump on Thursday, challenging his attempt to fire her from her seat on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, in a legal battle that could reshape the relationship between the White House and the nation’s central bank.
Cook, who was elevated to the board of the Federal Reserve by then-President Joe Biden in 2022, filed her lawsuit in federal court in Washington after Trump announced her dismissal on social media. The president cited allegations related to mortgage fraud in connection with her 2021 home loan applications.
The allegations were first brought to public attention by Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who referred them to the Justice Department.
“The Federal Reserve has tremendous responsibility for setting interest rates and regulating reserve and member banks,” the president said in his letter announcing Cook’s removal. “The American people must be able to have full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve. In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot and I do not have such confidence in your integrity.”
The case is seen by many as representing an unprecedented test of the Federal Reserve’s political independence, a cornerstone of American monetary policy for decades. Legal experts said the dispute was likely to reach the Supreme Court, where it could establish new precedents for presidential power over independent regulatory agencies.
In her court filing, Cook argued that Trump lacked the authority to remove her without following the “for cause” standard established in federal law. Although her legal team claimed that removal typically requires due process proceedings and factual findings, neither of which occurred before the president’s announcement, there is almost no precedent testing a “for cause” firing of a top government official and none at all for firing a Fed official.
When the “for cause” standard was reinstated in 1935—after being removed two years earlier—lawmakers declined to adopt more stringent language that would have explicitly required notice or hearing. Similarly, the law does not enumerate specific causes—such as the inefficiency, neglect of duty, and malfeasance in office—found in other statutes. Some legal experts believe this “naked” for-cause threshold gives the president more discretion when it comes to removing officials.
“This action is baseless and lacks both legal and factual merit,” said Abbe Lowell, Cook’s attorney, noting that the mortgage transactions in question occurred before her confirmation and had been disclosed during her Senate vetting process.
The Federal Reserve issued a statement emphasizing that governors serve 14-year terms specifically designed to insulate monetary policy from political pressure. The central bank said it would comply with any court ruling while defending the institutional protections that have underpinned its independence.
Recent Supreme Court rulings have weakened job protection for the heads of independent agencies, with the court frequently finding that “for cause” requirements unconstitutionally encroach on the president’s authority to direct the executive branch. In a case unrelated to the Fed, the Supreme Court indicated in May that it might treat protections for central bank officials differently, citing the long tradition of independent national banks as marking the Fed apart from other agencies.
Because those cases were typically brought by third parties who argued that a regulatory agency whose head was protected by a “for cause” removal provision was unconstitutionally structured, they did not give the court occasion to opine on questions of what amounts to sufficient cause for removal.
Financial markets showed little immediate reaction to the dispute, reflecting the fact that removing a single Fed governor will not significantly alter the course of monetary policy.
If Cook prevails, future presidents might feel barred from dismissing Fed officials regardless of the justification, potentially undermining confidence in the institution’s credibility. Critics of the White House say that if Trump prevails, Cook’s firing could stir concerns about the independence of the central bank.
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