Trump renews bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook despite Supreme Court ruling

Donald Trump is once again seeking to remove Lisa Cook, a governor on the US Federal Reserve board, despite a recent Supreme Court decision reinforcing the central bank's independence. Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor, was initially fired by Trump last August.

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failed to afford Cook the procedural protections to which she was entitled by statute

This week, Cook reportedly received a letter from the White House indicating Trump is considering her removal over the same mortgage fraud claims he made last summer. The letter, first reported by ABC News, states Cook has fallen short of the required standard for a Fed governor and demands a written response to the allegations within three weeks.

The Supreme Court's June ruling, a 5-4 decision, stated that Cook was entitled to remain on the board while contesting the allegations. The majority opinion noted that Trump had failed to provide Cook with the statutory procedural protections, preventing her from properly disputing the charges.

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Without such protections, she could not properly dispute the charges the president laid against her.

Cook's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, dismissed the allegations as baseless, stating they were as unfounded now as they were a year ago. Lowell asserted that no valid cause exists for Cook's removal, regardless of Trump's actions, and vowed to challenge this latest pretext to preserve her position and the Fed's historic role. The White House did not immediately comment.

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as baseless now as they were a year ago when President Trump tried to remove Governor Cook and interfere with the independence of the Federal Reserve

Cook was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022 for a 14-year term. Prior to her Fed role, she served on Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers and taught at Harvard and Stanford universities. Trump's previous firing of Cook was seen as an unprecedented challenge to the Federal Reserve's independence, occurring as he publicly criticized the Fed for not lowering interest rates.

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No matter what President Trump tries to do next, this much is clear under the facts and Supreme Court precedent – there is no valid cause for removing Governor Cook.