Every Living Ex-Fed Chair Rallies to Urge SCOTUS to Block Trump’s Lisa Cook Ousting

(Alex Brandon/Ken Cedeno/AP photos)

Every living former chair of the Federal Reserve has united against President Donald Trump’s bid to remove Lisa Cook from her post, warning the Supreme Court that the move would undercut the central bank’s independence at a key moment of political and economic strain.

In a rare show of unanimity, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellen joined five former Treasury secretaries and an array of past White House economic advisers in a brief urging the court to halt the president’s firing of Cook, who is challenging her removal in court.

“The independence of the Federal Reserve, within the limited authority granted by Congress to achieve the goals Congress itself has set, is a critical feature of our national monetary system,” the group wrote.

They added that “allowing the removal of Governor Lisa D. Cook while the challenge to her removal is pending would threaten that independence and erode public confidence in the Fed.”

Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor, was appointed in 2022.

Trump claimed in August that he was dismissing Cook over alleged mortgage fraud — an accusation she flatly rejected, while insisting the president lacked the authority to remove her.