Trump, President of U.S. v. Cook: Date Argued - 21 January, 2026

Case Summary:Trump, President of the U.S. v. Cook arises from President Donald Trump’s attempt in August 2025 to remove Lisa Cook, a Senate-confirmed member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors serving a 14‑year term, on the ground that she allegedly committed mortgage fraud before joining the Board by designating two different properties as her primary residence on separate loan applications. After the removal letter issued, Cook challenged the action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the Federal Reserve Act’s “for cause” removal protection limits the President to removing a governor only for misconduct or failures in office and that alleged, disputed pre‑appointment mortgage irregularities do not qualify as valid cause. She also contended that, because her statutory, fixed‑term position created a protected property interest, the President violated the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause by removing her without adequate advance notice of the charges and a meaningful opportunity to respond. The district court, treating her request for a temporary restraining order as a motion for a preliminary injunction, enjoined the President from removing Cook, finding that she was substantially likely to succeed on her statutory “for cause” and due process claims and that the equitable factors favored interim relief. The D.C. Circuit, by a 2–1 vote, declined to stay that injunction, leaving Cook in her position while the litigation proceeded and setting the stage for the President’s emergency application and subsequent review in the Supreme Court. The issue before the Supreme Court is whether the Court should stay (pause) the lower court’s preliminary injunction that currently prevents President Donald Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while her challenge to the legality of that removal proceeds. In deciding whether to grant that stay, the Court must assess both the president’s statutory and constitutional authority to remove a for‑cause‑protected Fed governor on the basis of alleged pre‑appointment misconduct and the scope of judicial power to review and temporarily block such a presidential removal.