WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump cannot remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook at this time, a federal appeals court ruled in an emergency decision issued just hours before the central bank’s two-day policy meeting began, CNN reported.
The 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, divided along party lines, is the latest setback in the White House’s attempt to exert control over the Fed. Trump has cited unproven allegations of mortgage fraud as grounds for Cook’s dismissal, though she has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Under the Federal Reserve Act, governors may only be removed “for cause,” CNN noted.
“In this court, the government does not dispute that it failed to provide Cook even minimal process—that is, notice of the allegation against her and a meaningful opportunity to respond—before she was purportedly removed,” Judges Bradley Garcia and Michelle Childs wrote in their opinion.
“The district court issued its preliminary injunction after finding that Cook is likely to succeed on two of her claims: her substantive, statutory claim that she was removed without ‘cause’… and her procedural claim that she did not receive sufficient process prior to her removal in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment,” Garcia and Childs wrote.
In his dissenting opinion, Judge Gregory Katsas wrote that “President Trump removed Cook for cause,” CNN said.
Cook’s attorneys did not respond to CNN’s request for comment following the ruling.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai told CNN Tuesday that the administration will appeal the ruling, insisting that President Trump “lawfully removed Lisa Cook for cause” and expressing confidence in an eventual victory.