Supreme Court Says Lisa Cook Keeps Fed Job

Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook isn’t going anywhere for now, despite President Donald Trump’s best efforts to remove her from the central bank.

The Supreme Court deferred action on Trump’s push for Cook’s ouster to the start of next year, according to an order released early Wednesday. The court is expected to hear oral arguments on the case in January.

While the reprieve may only last for a few months, it’s likely welcome relief to those concerned about how the executive branch’s meddling in the central bank — an independent body — could undermine the broader economy.

Trump unveiled his plans to fire Cook for cause in late August, shortly after Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte alleged that Cook committed mortgage fraud four years ago by describing both a home in Michigan and one in Atlanta as primary residences. The removal attempt was the first by a president in the Fed’s 111-year history.

Notably, a loan estimate filed by Cook regarding her Atlanta property characterized it as a “vacation home,” Reuters reported, arguably undermining the accusations of mortgage fraud. But Pulte opened an investigation into the matter via criminal referral to the Justice Department.

The timing of the administration’s crusade against Cook — and the Fed as a whole — appeared timed to throw the September meeting of the central bank into chaos.

An emergency court ruling allowed for her participation at the meeting, where the Federal Reserve made its biggest move since December. Chair Jerome Powell announced it was cutting its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, on par with expectations but not as drastic of a cut as the administration wanted.

The president himself has conducted a pressure campaign against the independent institution, often attacking Powell and pointing to costly renovations of the bank’s headquarters as a potential means for removal.

The White House has not yet commented on the Supreme Court’s order.