Judge blocks Trump effort to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
CNN15 hrs
Judge Blocks Trump's Firing of Fed Governor Cook
Above: Lisa Cook, governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during an open meeting June 25, 2025. Image copyright: Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Spin
Republican narrative
Trump will eventually be proven correct in his decision to fire Cook. The allegations against her are serious enough to warrant removal regardless of when they occurred, as they call into question her integrity as a financial regulator. The Federal Reserve Act gives the president clear authority to remove governors for cause, and documentary evidence of potential fraud meets that threshold.
Democratic narrative
This ruling correctly protects Federal Reserve independence from political interference by limiting presidential removal power to conduct occurring while in office. The judge properly found that pre-confirmation allegations cannot constitute cause for removal under the Federal Reserve Act, especially when those same mortgage documents were available during Cook's Senate confirmation process in 2022.