Lisa Cook, member of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve, at a Federal Reserve Board open meeting in June, 2025.

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, an early setback for the White House in an unprecedented legal battle that could upend the U.S. central bank’s long-held independence.

The preliminary ruling by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., does not settle the key issue of whether the Trump administration’s claims that Cook committed mortgage fraud before taking office, which she denies, are sufficient cause for her removal. Trump moved to fire Cook in late August, but the Fed has said she remains in her position.

The case, which will likely end up before the U.S. Suprem

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