Lisa Cook will remain as a Fed Governor.

US President Donald Trump had tried to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her role over a primary residence disclosure on a mortgage application. The Governor claimed it was a clerical error and that she was fired without due process.

Cook’s term on the Board of Governors doesn’t expire until 2038.

Trump has been looking to pack the Fed but it’s not going well and it doesn’t look like the Fed is going to have any latitude to cut rates anyway.

When he fired her, he said he had “reason to believe” that she “may
have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements.” He told her that he lacked “confidence in [her]
integrity” and that he had determined that “faithfully executing the
law requires [her] immediate removal from office,” according to the judgement.

The reasoning was fairly broad and takes some power from the White House.

The Government first contends that the President’s determination of “cause” is wholly unreviewable because the statute “commits
the determination of cause to” the President alone. … The Court sees no such commitment.

The decision was 5-4 so it was a close one. The Court’s narrowest ground is procedural: Cook was entitled to notice and some opportunity to respond before removal. The Court did not decide whether alleged mortgage fraud would be sufficient cause to remove Cook. It says the facts have not been found or analyzed under the proper standard.

The Court left open whether serious private misconduct, including pre-office mortgage fraud, could qualify as cause if proven and linked to fitness for the role.

The swing votes were Kavanaugh and Roberts.