The US Supreme Court has blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire a governor of the Federal Reserve, delivering a landmark 5-4 ruling that shields the central bank from immediate White House interference. The decision, handed down on Monday, allows Lisa Cook to remain on the Fed’s board while she fights unproved allegations of mortgage fraud made by the Trump administration.
In a narrow opinion, the justices said the president had failed to afford Cook the procedural protections to which she was entitled by statute. “Without such protections, she could not properly dispute the charges the president laid against her,” the court stated. The dispute now returns to lower courts, where the administration will have to prove its claim that Cook committed mortgage fraud by filing forms listing two different primary residences simultaneously – a practice that can secure lower interest rates.
“US Supreme Court blocks Trump from firing Fed governor Lisa Cook in a 5-4 ruling affirming central bank independence.”
Cook, a Joe Biden appointee whose 14-year term expires in 2038, is the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board. She was abruptly fired by Trump via social media last August, an act she challenged by suing the administration for removal without cause. Arguing before the court in January, Cook’s lawyer, Paul Clement, said the administration’s handling would make Congress’ intended protection for the Fed “kind of a joke”. Solicitor General John Sauer, representing the White House, countered that the social media post provided sufficient notice and that the alleged conduct, even if inadvertent, amounted to “negligence” that could undermine confidence in the central bank.
Following the ruling, Cook issued a statement declaring the case was “never about mortgage documents”. She called the allegations a “manufactured pretext” because she refused to bow to political pressure on interest rates, adding that the central bank must make policy decisions guided by “independent judgement, free from political interference”. By law, a president can only remove Fed governors “for cause”, a requirement intended to insulate the bank from short-term political pressures.
While the Cook ruling affirmed the Fed’s independence, the Supreme Court simultaneously delivered a separate 6-3 decision weakening the protections of other federal regulators. In an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court ruled that the president can fire members of independent agencies at will, a major victory for the Trump administration. The decision leaves bodies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) far more vulnerable to shifts in administration priorities, effectively overturning decades of precedent. On Monday, the court also allowed Trump to remove Democratic FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter and a member of the National Labor Relations Board, leaving the powerful union board without a quorum to decide labour disputes. The rulings collectively strip lower courts of their power to issue nationwide injunctions – a tool often used to block Trump during his first term – and stay a restriction on Immigration and Customs Enforcement using race and ethnicity as basis for immigration enforcement.
The contrasting outcomes highlight the court’s determination to protect the Fed even as it grants the president broad authority over other independent agencies. The decision is a major win for the central bank, which has faced sustained attacks from the White House over interest rate policy.