No Result
View All Result
SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLES
  • Login
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
TheAdviserMagazine.com
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal
No Result
View All Result
TheAdviserMagazine.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Legal

Supreme Court declines to take action on Trump’s request to fire Fed governor for now

by TheAdviserMagazine
3 weeks ago
in Legal
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
Supreme Court declines to take action on Trump’s request to fire Fed governor for now
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LInkedIn


The Supreme Court on Wednesday announced that it will hear oral arguments in January on a request from the Trump administration to allow the president to fire Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. In a brief, unsigned order, the justices delayed their decision on the administration’s plea to pause a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that keeps Cook in office despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to remove her from the board.

The dispute is the latest chapter in an ongoing battle over the president’s power to remove the heads of independent federal agencies created by Congress. Under federal law, members of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve staggered 14-year terms, a design intended to prevent any one president from “stacking the deck” with his own nominees. They can also only be removed “for cause” – a term that the Federal Reserve Act does not define.

Then-President Joe Biden nominated Cook to the Fed board in 2023. But in late August, Trump – who has also criticized the chair of the Fed, Jerome Powell, for the board’s failure to lower interest rates – posted screenshots on the social media site Truth Social of a letter to Cook in which he fired her.

Trump cited allegations that Cook had committed mortgage fraud before joining the board by designating, within the space of two weeks, both a house in Michigan and a condo in Atlanta as her “primary residence” when taking out loans. (Cook has denied the allegations, and news outlets have reported on financial documents that may undermine the accusations.) Trump contended that the fraud allegations were “sufficient cause to remove” Cook from the board. “At a minimum,” he wrote, “the conduct at issue exhibits the kind of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question [Cook’s] competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”

Cook went to federal court, where U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issued an order that required the Fed to allow Cook to stay on the board while her challenge to Trump’s effort to fire her continued. In Cobb’s view, Cook was “substantially likely” to win on her claim that Trump’s efforts to dismiss her violated federal law because he did not have “cause” to do so. “The “for cause” requirement, Cobb reasoned, “does not contemplate removing an individual purely for conduct that occurred before they began in office.”

Cobb also concluded that Trump likely violated Cook’s constitutional rights when he fired her. Cook, Cobb said, had a property interest in her position as governor; therefore, she wrote, Cook was entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard before she could be removed from that position.

And Cobb disagreed with the Trump administration’s suggestion that she could not weigh in on whether the president was justified in trying to fire Cook. If a court is “confronted with a justification offered by the President that clearly does not fall within the President’s statutory authority,” she wrote, it has “responsibility to review” that determination. The government’s contention that it does not, she said, “would provide no practical insulation for the members of the Board of Governors.”  

After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit turned down the government’s request to pause Cobb’s order while the litigation continues, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer went to the Supreme Court on Sept. 18, asking the justices to intervene. Calling Cobb’s order “yet another case of improper judicial interference with the President’s removal authority,” Sauer dismissed the lower courts’ conclusion that Cook had a property interest in her position and therefore an entitlement to notice and a hearing before she could be fired “untenable,” adding that such a requirement “would wreak havoc on sensitive presidential decision-making.”

Finally, Sauer wrote, Cobb did not have the power to order the president to reinstate Cook to her position. Such a remedy would only be available if Congress expressly authorized it, he said, and nothing in the Federal Reserve Act or the Banking Act indicates that Congress did so for Fed governors. And in any event, Sauer emphasized, at this stage the Supreme Court only needs to make clear “that federal courts lack the power to issue preliminary injunctions reinstating removed officers.”

On Sept. 22, the court agreed to review the case of Rebecca Slaughter, a member of the Federal Trade Commission whom Trump attempted to fire earlier this year despite a federal law providing that FTC commissioners can only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” The court granted the Trump administration’s request to pause a ruling by another federal judge in Washington, who had barred Trump from firing Slaughter. The justices also directed the litigants to discuss whether, even if federal officials are improperly removed from their positions, federal courts have the power to order their reinstatement or retention.

In her brief, filed on Sept. 25, Cook told the justices that the mortgage fraud allegations were “flimsy,” “unproven,” and “conveniently timed following the President’s criticism of the board’s policy decisions.” In light of this dispute over the veracity of Trump’s allegations, she wrote, there is no need for the court to step in now, because it might not have to do so at all if the allegations against her are ultimately shown to be baseless.

But the court should also not intervene, Cook continued, because Trump is not ultimately likely to win. Although Trump asserts that he tried to fire Cook “for cause,” she said, he can only fire her for one of the “recognized causes for presidential removal of executive officers at the time the provision was enacted” – a test that he cannot meet. “The President’s contrary interpretation of ‘for cause,’” Cook argued, “would give him virtual carte blanche authority to fire any governor at any time—and thus would upend the Federal Reserve’s longstanding tradition of independence.”

And unlike cases like Slaughter’s, Cook suggested, there would be no need for a court to reinstate her to her position if she eventually prevails in her challenge, because she has never left office: She “has consistently received her salary and exercised her duties since the purported removal.”

In a brief order released to reporters by the court’s Public Information Office shortly before 11 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, the justices wrote that the Trump administration’s request to pause Cobb’s order “is deferred pending oral argument in January 2026” – indicating that, as a technical matter, they will hear oral arguments and issue a decision on the request for a stay, rather than on the underlying merits of the dispute (although the likelihood that a litigant will prevail is an important criterion in determining whether to grant a stay). The court also signaled that Trump and Cook would not file additional briefs on the merits of the dispute, as would normally be the practice when the court grants review. Instead, the justices directed the clerk of the Supreme Court, Scott Harris, to set a schedule for the filing of “friend of the court” briefs, as well as “any supplemental briefs responding to” those briefs.

The court’s order effectively leaves Cobb’s ruling in place – and prevents Trump from firing Cook – while the case moves forward in the Supreme Court.

Cases: Trump v. Slaughter, Trump v. Cook

Recommended Citation:
Amy Howe,
Supreme Court declines to take action on Trump’s request to fire Fed governor for now,
SCOTUSblog (Oct. 1, 2025, 11:39 AM),
https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/10/supreme-court-declines-to-take-action-on-trumps-request-to-fire-fed-governor-for-now/



Source link

Tags: ActioncourtdeclinesFedFIREgovernorrequestSupremeTrumps
ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

The 5 Best Gold Mining Stocks to Buy Now

Next Post

October Mortgage Interest Rate Forecast

Related Posts

edit post
CSU Law’s IP+ Conference 2025

CSU Law’s IP+ Conference 2025

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 18, 2025
0

On Friday, November 14, I’ll be in Cleveland to speak at CSU|LAW’s annual IP+ Conference (with a...

edit post
Chicago Woman Indicted Despite Claims She Was Shot by a Federal Agent

Chicago Woman Indicted Despite Claims She Was Shot by a Federal Agent

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 17, 2025
0

Marimar Martinez was charged on October 5, 2025, with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon after...

edit post
Highlights from ClioCon 2025 | Clio

Highlights from ClioCon 2025 | Clio

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 17, 2025
0

18 minutes read Published Oct 17, 2025 ClioCon 2025 showcased the future of legal technology, unveiling transformative innovations designed to...

edit post
The Four Shields That Endanger Children | Kathryn Robb | Verdict

The Four Shields That Endanger Children | Kathryn Robb | Verdict

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 17, 2025
0

Child sexual abuse is not rare. It is an epidemic. One in four girls and one in thirteen boys will...

edit post
Repeated “Nonexistent Cases” in Filing From >20-Lawyer Insurance Defense Firm

Repeated “Nonexistent Cases” in Filing From >20-Lawyer Insurance Defense Firm

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 16, 2025
0

From today's decision in Gittemeier v. Liberty Mutual Pers. Ins. Co. (E.D. Mo.): Gittemeier posits that Liberty Mutual again miscited...

edit post
California Attorney Pleads Guilty For Role In 2M Ponzi Scheme

California Attorney Pleads Guilty For Role In $912M Ponzi Scheme

by TheAdviserMagazine
October 15, 2025
0

Rule of thumb: you should never represent your client in a way that will make you need a lawyer down...

Next Post
edit post
October Mortgage Interest Rate Forecast

October Mortgage Interest Rate Forecast

edit post
Meet the end-of-life planning startup co-founded by NBA All Star Russell Westbrook

Meet the end-of-life planning startup co-founded by NBA All Star Russell Westbrook

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
edit post
77-year-old popular furniture retailer closes store locations

77-year-old popular furniture retailer closes store locations

October 18, 2025
edit post
Pennsylvania House of Representatives Rejects Update to Child Custody Laws

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Rejects Update to Child Custody Laws

October 7, 2025
edit post
What to Do When a Loved One Dies in North Carolina

What to Do When a Loved One Dies in North Carolina

October 8, 2025
edit post
Probate vs. Non-Probate Assets: What’s the Difference?

Probate vs. Non-Probate Assets: What’s the Difference?

October 17, 2025
edit post
California Attorney Pleads Guilty For Role In 2M Ponzi Scheme

California Attorney Pleads Guilty For Role In $912M Ponzi Scheme

October 15, 2025
edit post
Baby Boomers Are Flocking to This Florida Town — but Not for the Weather

Baby Boomers Are Flocking to This Florida Town — but Not for the Weather

October 9, 2025
edit post
Willing to pay extra to build resilience in our supply chains: Piyush Goyal

Willing to pay extra to build resilience in our supply chains: Piyush Goyal

0
edit post
Barclays Q3 earnings

Barclays Q3 earnings

0
edit post
The U.S. government shutdown means investors are flying blind when it comes to high-quality data—and they like it that way

The U.S. government shutdown means investors are flying blind when it comes to high-quality data—and they like it that way

0
edit post
Profits are Social Authentication – Econlib

Profits are Social Authentication – Econlib

0
edit post
Dogecoin Bullish Fractal Suggests 800% Surge Is Coming Amid Momentum Acceleration

Dogecoin Bullish Fractal Suggests 800% Surge Is Coming Amid Momentum Acceleration

0
edit post
5 Home Equity Line Pitfalls Seniors in California Didn’t Expect

5 Home Equity Line Pitfalls Seniors in California Didn’t Expect

0
edit post
Willing to pay extra to build resilience in our supply chains: Piyush Goyal

Willing to pay extra to build resilience in our supply chains: Piyush Goyal

October 22, 2025
edit post
The U.S. government shutdown means investors are flying blind when it comes to high-quality data—and they like it that way

The U.S. government shutdown means investors are flying blind when it comes to high-quality data—and they like it that way

October 22, 2025
edit post
Profits are Social Authentication – Econlib

Profits are Social Authentication – Econlib

October 22, 2025
edit post
Dogecoin Bullish Fractal Suggests 800% Surge Is Coming Amid Momentum Acceleration

Dogecoin Bullish Fractal Suggests 800% Surge Is Coming Amid Momentum Acceleration

October 22, 2025
edit post
Free Banjo Robinson Children’s Educational Activity Subscription Pack {Just Pay  shipping!}

Free Banjo Robinson Children’s Educational Activity Subscription Pack {Just Pay $2 shipping!}

October 22, 2025
edit post
Barclays Q3 earnings

Barclays Q3 earnings

October 22, 2025
The Adviser Magazine

The first and only national digital and print magazine that connects individuals, families, and businesses to Fee-Only financial advisers, accountants, attorneys and college guidance counselors.

CATEGORIES

  • 401k Plans
  • Business
  • College
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Economy
  • Estate Plans
  • Financial Planning
  • Investing
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Legal
  • Market Analysis
  • Markets
  • Medicare
  • Money
  • Personal Finance
  • Social Security
  • Startups
  • Stock Market
  • Trading

LATEST UPDATES

  • Willing to pay extra to build resilience in our supply chains: Piyush Goyal
  • The U.S. government shutdown means investors are flying blind when it comes to high-quality data—and they like it that way
  • Profits are Social Authentication – Econlib
  • Our Great Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use, Legal Notices & Disclosures
  • Contact us
  • About Us

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Financial Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Personal Finance
  • Market Research
    • Business
    • Investing
    • Money
    • Economy
    • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Trading
  • 401k Plans
  • College
  • IRS & Taxes
  • Estate Plans
  • Social Security
  • Medicare
  • Legal

© Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved
See articles for original source and related links to external sites.