US Supreme Court blocks Trump's bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook

The United States Supreme Court has blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, preserving her position while her legal challenge continues. The 5-4 ruling is a significant setback for the White House in a dispute that has drawn attention to the limits of presidential power over the central bank. It also keeps in place a judge's order preventing Cook's immediate dismissal.

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The court said Cook was not given the procedural protections required by statute before the removal effort. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that governors at the Federal Reserve do not serve at the president's pleasure and instead hold staggered 14-year terms, with removal allowed only for cause. Roberts said that without those protections, Cook could not properly contest the allegations made against her.

The case centres on allegations of mortgage fraud that Trump cited in August as the basis for trying to oust Cook. Cook has denied the claims and said they were a pretext to pressure the central bank over monetary policy. She welcomed the ruling and said it helps preserve the Federal Reserve's independence from political interference.

The decision matters because it touches on one of the most sensitive questions in US economic governance: how far a president can go in trying to shape the leadership of the central bank. The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 and is designed to operate with a degree of independence from day-to-day political pressure. That independence is often seen as central to confidence in interest-rate decisions and broader market stability.

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The ruling also comes against a backdrop of Trump's repeated criticism of the Federal Reserve and his pressure on Jerome Powell, whom he has also targeted. According to the court record described in the case, Trump had launched an investigation into Powell as part of that broader campaign. The split decision showed clear disagreement among the justices, with Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joining the court's three liberal justices in the majority.

What happens next will depend on the continuing legal challenge over Cook's attempted removal and any further action by the administration. The court's order does not resolve the underlying allegations, and it leaves open the broader constitutional question of how removal protections for Federal Reserve governors should be applied. For now, Cook remains in office, and the case is likely to remain closely watched by policymakers and financial markets.

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