(MENAFN- Live Mint) The US Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 1) refused to allow President Donald Trump to immediately remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, delivering a setback. A brief unsigned order confirmed Cook can stay in her position until arguments in the case are heard in January.

Trump's campaign to unseat Cook marks an attempt to reshape the Fed board, which has historically been independent from politics. No president has ever fired a sitting Fed governor in the institution's 112-year history.

Cook has vowed she will not be“bullied” by Trump . Her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said,“She will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed Board Governor.”

Legal battle over firing authority

The court will also examine whether federal judges can block firings or merely award back pay to officials wrongly dismissed. A federal judge ruled that Trump's firing of Cook would be illegal because Fed governors can only be removed“for cause” - misconduct while in office - and that firing her would violate her due process rights.

Allegations of mortgage fraud

Trump Admin has accused Cook of mortgage fraud, claiming she misrepresented two properties as primary residences in 2021. The administration argued in a Supreme Court filing,“Put simply, the President may reasonably determine that interest rates paid by the American people should not be set by a Governor who appears to have lied about facts material to the interest rates she secured for herself - and refuses to explain the apparent misrepresentations.”

Cook has denied any wrongdoing.

Documents show she identified her Atlanta condo as a“vacation home” and a“2nd home” in security forms, undermining the fraud allegations.

Cook and Trump nominee Stephen Miran both participated in the recent Fed meeting, with Miran dissenting in favor of a larger rate cut. Cook's next opportunity to vote at the Fed's interest rate-setting committee is scheduled for October 28-29.
(With AP inputs)

Also Read | US govt shutdown: Vance reveals what they want to do amid Trump's firings remark

MENAFN01102025007365015876ID1110138891