The Supreme Court will hear an appeal from the Trump administration regarding whether President Donald Trump had the authority to remove Lisa Cook from the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, Bloomberg reported. The high court was petitioned in an emergency order filed Thursday to determine the validity of the unprecedented action.
Some see the Republicans' eagerness to remove Cook as a form of tinkering with the Federal Reserve. In the 112-year history of America's central bank, this is the first time a president has initiated such a move to the governing board, and a lower appeals court refused to uphold Trump's decision.
However, it's more than just a power play from Trump. Cook has claimed two homes in different states as her "primary residence" to allegedly reap the benefits of a lower interest rate on her mortgage. Conservative attorney James Burnham said in a post Thursday to X, formerly Twitter,outlining the case that it was "no surprise" that the matter ended up at the high court.
No surprise but @TheJusticeDept has just arrived at the Supreme Court seeking emergency relief in the ongoing battle over whether the President can remove Lisa Cook as a Federal Reserve Governor based on seemingly credible evidence of mortgage fraud. Lets unpack. 1/ pic.twitter.com/OdAIU6ORA1
— James Burnham (@BurnhamDC) September 18, 2025
While the issue continues to be hashed out in the courts, Cook has dug her heels in, saying she refused to be "bullied" by Trump into leaving, the Associated Press reported. Abbe Lowell, a high-profile attorney representing Cook, said her client "will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed Board Governor."
Meanwhile, Trump nominated Stephen Miran to replace Cook on the Federal Reserve Board. Senate Republicans confirmed Miran to the position on Monday, and now both Cook and her replacement voted to cut interest rates at the Fed on Wednesday.
If she remains on the board, Cook will be able to vote on the interest rate setting committee's vote at the end of next month. However, it's still remains to be seen whether she'll stay as Trump first sought to get rid of Cook on Aug. 25 after alleging that she committed mortgage fraud, Fox News reported.
Bill Pulte, whom Trump appointed to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, filed two referrals to the Justice Department after uncovering problems with her mortgage documents, which listed at least two homes as her primary residences in Michigan and Georgia. These purchases were made before then-President Joe Biden appointed her to the Fed, but the recent Justice Department referrals led to Trump firing Cook.
Cook sued Trump in federal court on August 28, also naming Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the lawsuit. Notably, Cook's lawsuit did not dispute or even address the allegations against her.
Cook isn't the only official to have a problem with her mortgage documents. As the New York Post reported, Pulte's investigation also found that Trump's nemesis, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, allegedly played games with disclosing her living situation to obtain a favorable mortgage rate.
In 2023, James purchased a home in Virginia and one in Brooklyn while serving as the state's attorney in New York. She allegedly "falsified records" stating that the property in Norfolk, Virginia would be her "principal residence." Jamees has denied the claims, calling the charges "baseless" and a stunt from Trump's "revenge tour" against her.
She's right that Trump has reason to go after her, considering the civil fraud case against him and his company, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't pursue justice against her for something she allegedly did wrong. When asked about the case, Trump made it seem like it wasn't on his radar as a priority.
"We’re going to see what happens. I am not following it very closely. It looks to me like she’s very guilty of something, but I really don’t know," Trump said of the grand jury investigation. US Attorney Erik Siebert, who has yet to bring charges, resigned after Trump made it clear he wanted him out over his inaction.
Trump should have a say in who he fires, especially if it involves the person in charge of setting mortgage interest rates, who allegedly conducts herself in a way that circumvents the rules. The high court will weigh in, but the lower court has already blocked his action, signaling a reluctance to allow it.
