Trump Appeals Court Order Reinstating Federal Reserve Governor He Fired

A federal district judge ruled on Sept. 9 that Lisa Cook made a ’strong showing' the president lacks legal authority to remove her from her post.

Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook listens during an open meeting of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve in Washington on June 25, 2025. Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

President Donald Trump filed an appeal on Sept. 10 against a federal judge’s order reinstating Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook after he fired her last month.

Cook joined the Federal Reserve System’s board of governors in January 2022 to fill an unexpired term after being nominated by President Joe Biden.

She was reappointed in September 2023. Her current term is set to expire in January 2038.

The Federal Reserve System is the nation’s central bank. It manages monetary policy through activities such as setting interest rates.

The Fed also oversees financial institutions and electronic payment systems, distributes currency, and serves as a lender of last resort to financial institutions under stress.

Trump fired Cook on Aug. 25—the first time a president has ever fired a Fed governor—citing his authority under the Federal Reserve Act.

He said in an Aug. 25 letter he posted online that there was “sufficient reason to believe [she] may have made false statements on one or more mortgage documents.”

Trump was referring to allegations that Cook committed mortgage fraud related to two properties she purchased before joining the Fed.

The letter said William Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, made a criminal referral on Aug. 15 about the mortgage allegations to Attorney General Pamela Bondi. A criminal referral is a formal recommendation by a government official to another to investigate or prosecute alleged criminal activity.

The referral states that Cook signed a document verifying that a property in Michigan would be her primary residence for the next year, but two weeks later, she signed another document saying a Georgia property would be her primary residence for the next year, according to Trump’s letter.

“It is inconceivable that you were not aware of your first commitment when making the second. It is impossible that you intended to honor both,” the letter said.

The president says the allegations are serious enough that he is allowed to oust Cook from her position.

“At a minimum, the conduct at issue exhibits the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question [her] competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator,” Trump wrote.

Trump is appealing a preliminary injunction U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb of Washington issued on Sept. 9 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The injunction temporarily blocks the president from removing Cook from office while the litigation over her termination plays out.

The appeal document does not spell out the arguments the president intends to use during the appeal process.

Cobb said in her Sept. 9 written opinion that Trump’s actions and Cook’s lawsuit “raise many serious questions of first impression that the court believes will benefit from further briefing on a non-emergency timeline.”

However, Cook has made a “strong showing” at this preliminary stage in the litigation that her firing violates the Federal Reserve Act, the judge added.

Cook’s attorneys have said the president may only remove Fed governors for cause, which typically refers to poor job performance or misconduct in office. Cook has denied wrongdoing with the allegations against her.

Her attorneys also said Cook should have been provided an opportunity to respond to the allegations before being terminated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.