Trump’s Bid to Fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook Rejected by Appeals Court

(Alex Brandon/Ken Cedeno/AP photos)

President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has been blocked by an appeals court just ahead of the central bank’s next meeting on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The White House may now turn to the Supreme Court in the crusade to oust Cook after the three-judge panel struck down Trump’s effort on Tuesday, according to reports.

It’s the latest development in a weeks-long battle between Cook and Trump, who has been trying to remove her from her leadership post at the Fed since his Housing Finance Agency chief, Bill Pulte, accused her of mortgage fraud.

Pulte claimed that Cook declared an Atlanta condo as her primary home, two weeks after taking a loan on a Michigan home she also claimed as her primary residence.

His findings prompted Trump to announce in a Truth Social post that he was firing Cook.

“You are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately,” Trump wrote in a letter that accompanied the post. Cook responded by suing the president, arguing he had no cause to fire her.

But a recent report from Reuters has debunked Pulte’s claims, saying:

A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a “vacation home,” according to a document reviewed by Reuters.

The document, dated May 28, 2021, was issued to Cook by her credit union in the weeks before she completed the purchase and shows that she had told the lender that the Atlanta property wouldn’t be her primary residence. The document appears to counter other documentation that Cook’s critics have cited in support of their claims that she committed mortgage fraud by reporting two different homes as her primary residence, two independent real-estate experts said.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb granted Cook’s request for a preliminary injunction to block her firing as she battles the Trump administration in court, the Associated Press reported.

The “removal of a Federal Reserve Governor extends only to concerns about the Board member’s ability to effectively and faithfully execute their statutory duties, in light of events that have occurred while they are in office,” wrote Cobb, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2021.

Cook responded by filing a lawsuit against Trump, alleging his actions are “unprecedented and illegal.

Under the law, Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Board of Governors, has not been charged with any crimes, though Pulte has referred his findings to the Department of Justice.