Legal experts weighed in Monday night after a federal appeals court dealt President Donald Trump a major loss in his high-profile firing of a Federal Reserve official who was ousted over dubious mortgage fraud claims.
Lisa Cook was fired by Trump from her position as a Federal Reserve governor based on claims that she claimed two properties as primary residences on loan documents to obtain more favorable terms. The administration cited mortgage fraud claims lodged by Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as "cause" for dismissal, which is legally required for a president to remove a Fed governor.
Cook has not been charged with a crime and has denied wrongdoing. New documents show that her disclosures may not have constituted fraud.
On Monday evening, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. rejected a Justice Department request to pause a judge's order temporarily blocking Cook's firing. As such, Cook can — for now — remain at the Fed ahead of a key policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The administration is expected to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court — and legal experts warned the appeals court just set up the high court for a "huge ruling."
Lawrence Hurley, senior Supreme Court reporter for NBC News, wrote on Bluesky, "Needless to say, a potentially huge ruling via the Supreme Court's shadow docket now beckons."
Jill Wine-Banks, legal analyst for MSNBC and NBC, wrote on Bluesky, "Good news. Appeals court won’t let Trump fire Lisa Cook ahead of Fed meeting."
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote on Bluesky, "This may be too quick even for the shadow docket. We shall see."
Zoe Tillman, who writes about law and politics for Bloomberg, wrote on X, "Big tonight: A US appeals court rebuffed President Trump's latest push to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, with the 2-1 ruling coming hours before the Fed is set to meet tomorrow. Watching to see if DOJ makes a last-minute request for SCOTUS to step in.
Amanda Fischer, former SEC chief of staff and adviser in the U.S. House and Senate, wrote on X, "If the Katsas dissent is the playbook for SCOTUS, we’ve basically flattened any difference between for-cause & at will removal. Aka, say hello to a new Fed board with every new President. The WSJ ed board crowd maybe bit off more than they can chew with their legal project."
Politico's Kyle Cheney wrote on X that "Trump's last hope is a quick stay from SCOTUS."
