A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, denied the Trump administration’s emergency bid to pause a lower-court order that kept Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook in office.
In a brief order with separate statements, Judges Garcia and Childs denied the stay, and Judge Katsas dissented, leaving intact the district court’s injunction while the appeal proceeds. You can read the court’s order and both statements in the official filing from the D.C. Circuit here.
The three-judge panel’s decision is rooted in the phrasing of the statute at play. Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. § 242) says members of the governing board “may be removed by the President for cause,” not at will. The Trump administration’s argument is based on documentation that Cook committed mortgage fraud by claiming multiple homes as her primary residence in order to secure better mortgage rates.
However, Garcia and Childs argued that the manner by which the President took action violated due process. They argued that if the President cites “cause,” the official must at least get notice and a chance to respond before removal. The government, the court notes, conceded it provided no such process before announcing Cook’s removal.
This isn’t the end of the saga, however, as the Trump administration can still appeal to the Supreme Court.
For now, though, the ruling means Cook can take part in the Fed’s big September meeting, which starts on Tuesday. The Federal Reserve is expected to approve a rate cut of 25 basis points (0.25 percent), with some analysts acknowledging the Fed could go as high as a fifty-basis-point cut, though that is less likely.
But, if the Trump administration can get relief from the Supreme Court, then it may be Cook’s last meeting as a Fed governor.
