The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday (June 29) that President Trump cannot fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while her legal challenge to his removal attempt continues, marking the first time in the Fed's 112-year history a president has tried to remove a governor without cause.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the Court's three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett dissented.
The ruling did not decide whether Trump can ultimately fire Cook, only that he failed to provide the legal protections she was owed before attempting to remove her. "At minimum, Cook was entitled to some explanation of the evidence at issue, some avenue for a response, and a deadline by which a response would be due," Roberts wrote.
Trump moved to fire Cook last August, citing mortgage fraud allegations raised by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte. Trump alleged Cook falsely listed a second property as her primary residence to secure better loan terms on homes in Michigan and Georgia. Cook denied the allegations and sued, arguing she was never given notice or a chance to respond before being fired. Bank documents later obtained by NBC News appeared to contradict the fraud claim. Pulte stood by the allegations Monday, posting on X that he believes Cook "will be indicted for mortgage fraud."
Cook, a Biden appointee and the first Black woman to serve on the Fed's Board of Governors, issued her own statement following the ruling. "This was never about mortgage documents signed years before I became a Federal Reserve governor," she said. "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."
The ruling carved out a narrow exception for the Fed specifically. In a separate 6-3 decision issued the same day, the Court ruled Trump could fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, overturning a 90-year-old precedent that had shielded independent agency commissioners from removal without cause. Taken together, the two decisions effectively single out the Federal Reserve as uniquely protected among federal agencies based on its distinct structure and role in the financial system.
Trump's effort to remove Cook came amid his broader, ongoing criticism of the Fed for not lowering interest rates as he's demanded. Cook's attorneys argued that granting Trump unchecked removal power would "eviscerate the Fed's independence, disrupt markets and create a roadmap for future presidents to direct monetary policy." Trump responded to the ruling on Truth Social, calling it based on "a strictly procedural basis" and vowing to pursue the matter further.
Cook's underlying lawsuit challenging her removal will continue in the lower courts.
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