The Supreme Court lets Lisa Cook stay at the Fed — for now

In a short, unsigned order, the high court said that a decision on the Trump administration's emergency appeal to fire her has been postponed until January 2026 pending oral arguments in the high-stakes case.

In the meantime, the decision means she can report to the Federal Reserve and keep carrying out her professional responsibilities. She is able to cast a vote on interest rates as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee for at least two more meetings, one later this month and another in early December.

“The Court’s decision rightly allows Governor Cook to continue in her role on the Federal Reserve Board, and we look forward to further proceedings consistent with the Court’s order," said a statement from Abbe David Lowell and Norm Eisen, Cook's legal counsel.

Cook's ongoing lawsuit represents an inflection point for the central bank's traditional separation from the executive branch. Trump has sought to pressure the Fed into sharply lowering interest rates, arguing it'll unleash more economic growth.

He fired Cook in late August shortly after Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte accused her of mortgage fraud and attempting to secure a cheaper loan by designating two properties as primary residences.

Cook responded with a lawsuit claiming that she hadn't been provided enough notice to respond to the claims against her. She has not been charged or found guilty of wrongdoing.

The White House expressed some disappointment with the decision but pledged to keep pursuing its case in the court. "We maintain that she was fired well within the president's legal authority to do so," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in her Wednesday press briefing. "She was removed from the board, and we look forward to that case being fully played out at the Supreme Court."

Ex-Fed chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellen joined former treasury secretaries and top economists from both parties in filing a "friend of the court" brief last week arguing Cook should remain at the Fed.

Deciding in Trump's favor, they said in the brief, "would expose the Federal Reserve to political influences, thereby eroding public confidence in the Fed’s independence and jeopardizing the credibility and efficacy of U.S. monetary policy."