Lisa Cook is a governor of America's Federal Reserve. Her term is due to run until 2038.
On August 25th 2025 Donald Trump posted a letter on Truth Social saying he had fired Ms Cook, citing alleged mortgage fraud. The claim was first made by Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who alleged that Ms Cook had "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favourable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud". The precise allegation is that she took out two mortgages a fortnight apart—one for a house in Michigan and another for a flat in Atlanta—and claimed that both would be her main residence. She is also accused of briefly listing her flat in Atlanta for rent, though her financial disclosures did not report any rental income. She filed the paperwork in question in 2021, while a private citizen.
Ms Cook has not been charged with a crime. She refused to resign and pledged to fight the firing in court. No president had previously used the power to sack a Fed official "for cause". Fed governors have long terms and can be removed only for cause—often defined as inefficiency, neglect or malfeasance.
The Supreme Court deferred Trump's plea to remove Ms Cook in a shadow-docket case and announced it would hear oral argument in January 2026. She was the only official Trump had tried to sack who was allowed to stay in her job while the justices considered the challenge. In May 2025 the six Republican-appointed justices had voted to let Trump sack the heads of the NLRB and the Merit Systems Protection Board, but that order sought to distinguish the Federal Reserve as a "uniquely structured, quasi-private entity" whose governors should not serve at the pleasure of the president.
On January 21st 2026 the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trump v Cook. Jerome Powell, the Fed's chair, watched from the public gallery.
No justice seemed squarely on Trump's side. The statute he invoked allows dismissal for "cause", but justices from left to right pressed the solicitor-general on what that means and whether pre-appointment conduct qualifies. Chief Justice John Roberts was sceptical, asking whether an "inadvertent mistake" was grave enough to constitute cause. Justice Brett Kavanaugh pressed questions about the purpose of Fed independence. Justice Amy Coney Barrett invoked the case's wider economic implications. Legal scholars expect a narrow ruling against Trump that ducks many of the most complicated questions, though even a "nominal loss" for the president could still allow him to devise a streamlined process for firing Ms Cook with a better chance of surviving further legal challenge.
I never vote for anyone. I always vote against.