President Donald Trump on Wednesday appealed a federal judge’s order blocking him from firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the latest twist in a high-stakes lawsuit that could be headed to the Supreme Court.
The notice of the appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was brief. The administration’s next steps could include seeking an emergency pause to Cobb’s order while the lawsuit proceeds.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Kush Desai defended Trump’s decision, saying the president “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.”
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“This ruling is not the final word,” Desai said, adding that the Trump administration will continue to restore accountability and public trust at the Fed.
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Cook’s lawyers did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The Federal Reserve declined to comment.
Trump’s appeal comes one day after U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb temporarily blocked Cook’s firing, allowing her to continue in her current role for now. Cobb found in her order that Cook’s termination likely violated the Federal Reserve Act, which does not permit at-will firings.
The “best reading” of the law implies that “the bases for removal of a member of the Board of Governors is limited to grounds concerning a Governor’s behavior in office and whether they have been faithfully and effectively executing their statutory duties,” Cobb wrote.
The judge said Trump likely violated Cook’s due process rights and that the Federal Reserve statute does not account for conduct that occurred before a governor took office, like the mortgage fraud alleged against Cook.
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The allegations originated with Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the federal agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Pulte tied Cook to the three properties in two separate referrals to the Justice Department.
Trump seized on those allegations and ousted Cook on Aug. 25, which prompted her to sue him in federal court three days later. Her lawsuit named as defendants Trump, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Cook’s attorneys argued that Trump’s move to fire her was unlawful and undermined the Federal Reserve’s independence. The suit, which was filed on Aug. 28, does not address the allegations that Cook listed multiple houses as a primary residence on mortgage filings.
The trio of mortgage loans were issued in 2021 and before Cook was nominated as a Federal Reserve governor by former President Joe Biden.
The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation on Sept. 4 into Cook over allegations of mortgage application fraud. The probe could further complicate Cook’s fight to stay in her role on the Fed board, the panel of central bankers tasked with guiding the nation’s monetary policy.
Her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, wrote in a filing on Sept. 2 that she “did not ever commit mortgage fraud.”
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