Judge Rules Lisa Cook Can Remain Federal Reserve Governor
Federal Judge Rules Lisa Cook Can Remain Federal Reserve Governor
A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her position after President Donald Trump attempted to fire her.
According to CBS News, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb wrote in her ruling that “President Trump has not stated a legally permissible cause for Cook’s removal.” Cobb added that “the Court will enter an injunction directing [Fed Chair Jerome] Powell and the Board of Governors to allow Cook to continue to operate as a member of the Board for the pendency of this litigation.”
Lisa Cook was appointed to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors in 2022, becoming the first Black woman to ever serve as a Fed governor. In August, Trump attempted to fire Lisa Cook over an allegation that she had made false statements on a mortgage agreement in 2021 to get a better rate. Cook has denied the allegations, but that didn’t stop Trump from firing her before an investigation could even be completed.
If we’re firing people over fraud, then President Trump should be the first person out of a job, considering he was found liable for fraud himself.
Cobb’s ruling particularly took umbrage with the grounds on which Trump attempted to fire Lisa Cook, stating that Trump’s termination letter “does not address her [Cook’s] in-office conduct at all, let alone provide any examples of how Cook’s performance or personal conduct since assuming the role has been in any way deficient in carrying out her statutory duties.”
The allegations of mortgage fraud happened a year before Cook joined the board of governors, with Cobb noting that the termination letter “does not identify any conduct that Cook has engaged in while serving as a member of the Board that indicates that Cook lacks the competence or trustworthiness for the role.”
Lisa Cook’s lawyers argued that Trump’s attempted firing strikes at the very heart of the Federal Reserve’s independence. Throughout its 112-year history, the Federal Reserve has operated independently of whatever political party is in charge. Cook’s firing marks the first time in Fed history that a president has tried to fire a Fed governor. “The President’s effort to terminate a Senate-confirmed Federal Reserve Board member is a broadside attack on the century-old independence of the Federal Reserve System,” Cook’s lawyers wrote in a filing.
Cobb’s ruling seemed to agree with that assessment. “Taken to its logical conclusion, the Government’s argument leads to an absurd result: While admitting that the President cannot remove an official for policy disagreements, the Government claims that under Reagan, a removal on the grounds of a policy disagreement would nevertheless be unreviewable,” the ruling read. “This cannot be the case. Such a rule would provide no practical insulation for the members of the Board of Governors. It would mean that the President could, in practice, ‘remove a member … merely because he wanted his own appointees.'”
White House spokesman Kush Desai released a statement saying Tuesday’s ruling “will not be the last say on the matter.”
“President Trump lawfully removed Lisa Cook for cause due to credible allegations of mortgage fraud from her highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors,” Desai added. The Trump administration appealed the ruling on Wednesday, so Cook’s ability to do her job is ostensibly still in limbo.
President Trump has been vocally critical of the Federal Reserve throughout his second term as president. He’s publicly considered firing Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell before his term ends in May 2026 over disagreements on the federal interest rate. In a letter focused on rising unemployment rates for Black women, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., also addressed Lisa Cook’s attempted firing, urging Powell to take steps to protect the Federal Reserve’s autonomy.
In an interview with NBC News, Pressley noted that Cook’s firing was part of a larger “moment of antiblackness on steroids.” President Trump has repeatedly attacked Black mayors and abruptly fired former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman CQ Brown Jr., as well as Carla Hayden, the first Black person and woman to become Librarian of Congress.
It seems that in President Trump’s mind, being Black is cause enough to fire a public official.
SEE ALSO:
Trump Says He Fired Federal Reserve Governor
Trump Berates ‘Fat Black Women,’ Biographer Says
Federal Judge Rules Lisa Cook Can Remain Federal Reserve Governor was originally published on newsone.com
