US President Donald Trump speaks during a Religious Liberty Commission meeting at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025.
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday appealed a federal judge’s order blocking him from firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while a lawsuit challenging his removal of her continues.
The appeal came a day after U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb, in her decision, said, “The public interest in Federal Reserve independence weighs in favor of Cook’s reinstatement.”
Cobb also said that Cook has “made a strong showing” that Trump’s purported removal of her violated the Federal Reserve Act’s requirement that board governors be removed only for legal “cause.”
Trump announced on Aug. 25 that he was firing Cook, who is the first black woman to serve as a Fed governor.
The president claimed he was doing so because of allegations by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte that she committed mortgage fraud.
Cook denies any wrongdoing. Her attorneys have argued that Trump is using Pulte’s claims as a pretext, and that her would-be removal is part of a pressure campaign by the president on the Fed to cut interest rates.
Trump has appointed two of the Fed’s seven governors, who participate in decisions setting interest rates.
Hours before the appeal was filed on Wednesday, the Senate Banking Committee, in a party-line vote, recommended that the full Senate approve Trump’s nominee Stephen Miran for a Fed governor’s seat left vacant by the surprise resignation of Adriana Kugler last month.
If Cook is ultimately removed from the Fed, Trump would be on track to nominate a majority of the central bank’s board.
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