WASHINGTON – An appeals court on Sept. 15 said Lisa Cook can remain for now on the Federal Reserve board as she fights President Donald Trump's unprecedented attempt to remove her from the central bank.

The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit – which the administration is expected to appeal to the Supreme Court − came on the eve of a September 16-17 policy meeting at which the Fed is expected to cut interest rates.

Cook’s lawyers had argued that letting Trump remove her from the board now would disrupt the meeting and roil the market.

The Justice Department said courts don’t have a say over the president’s decision.

The Supreme Court has refused to prevent Trump from firing the heads of other so-called independent bodies. But the justices seemed to draw a line at the seven-member Fed board, which the court said was “uniquely structured," with Congress intending that “monetary policy was independent of the president.”

Trump has argued he fired Cook in August for allegedly making false statements on mortgage applications before she began her 14-year term in 2023.

Cook hasn’t been charged with a crime and hasn’t had a chance to formally respond to Trump’s allegations that she declared more than one home her “primary residence” in an effort to get a more favorable interest rate for a second home.

Documents reviewed by Reuters show Cook had declared the second property a “vacation home,” countering other documents Cook’s critics have citied.

No president has ever tried to fire a Fed governor since Congress created the board in 1913.

The law allows a Fed member to be removed “for cause” but does not say what that covers or specify a procedure for proving wrongdoing.

Cook argues Trump's allegations are a pretext to fire her for her monetary policy stance.

The Fed sets interest rates that help determine how fast or slow the economy grows. Trump has berated Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates to spur growth.

But Congress set up the seven-member Fed board to make its economic decisions independent of political pressure.

Two of the three appeals court judges – both of whom were appointed by President Joe Biden – said the administration doesn’t dispute that it failed to tell Cook why she was being fired and failed to give her a meaningful opportunity to respond.

Because of that, and because of the many ways the case is different from Trump’s removals of members of other independent agencies, Cook should stay on the job for now, Judge Brad Garcia wrote in a concurring opinion joined by Judge Michelle Childs.

Judge Gregory Katsas, who was appointed by Trump, said the president should be allowed to remove Cook.

Katsas wrote that Cook’s challenge turns on the meaning of the phrase “for cause,” which should be interpreted broadly.

“The President plainly invoked a cause relating to Cook’s conduct, ability, fitness, or competence,” he wrote.

Contributing: Reuters.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: In loss for Trump, appeals court lets Lisa Cook stay at Federal Reserve on eve of meeting

Reporting by Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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