The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to pause a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that keeps Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, in office despite President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her in the wake of allegations that she committed mortgage fraud before joining the board. (Cook has denied the allegations, and several news outlets have since reported on financial documents that may undermine the government’s contentions.) U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, the government’s top lawyer before the court, told the justices that the ruling by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb was “yet another case of improper judicial interference with the President’s removal authority—here, interference with the President’s authority to remove members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for cause.”
The Trump administration’s request came just one day after the Federal Reserve’s two-day September policy meeting, at which the Fed lowered interest rates by a quarter of a point, the first cut since December 2024. Trump has criticized the chair of the Fed, Jerome Powell, for not lowering interest rates. Cook participated in the meeting and joined 10 other governors in voting for the rate cut; Stephen