<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Ten days ago, Lisa Cook was one of seven members of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, playing an important but hardly leading role in the central bank’s debate over the path of interest rates.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Today, the future of the Fed and whether it will continue to operate as an <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/us/politics/trump-fed-lisa-cook.html" title="">independent institution</a> or become subject to the whims of the White House rests largely on her shoulders.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Ms. Cook finds herself in that position because of <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/us/politics/lisa-cook-fired-trump-fed.html" title="">President Trump’s decision on Monday</a> to seek her ouster, and <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/us/politics/lisa-cook-trump-fed-lawsuit.html" title="">her own decision on Thursday</a> to file a lawsuit challenging her attempted dismissal. Those two actions set the stage for a landmark legal battle, one that is bound for the Supreme Court, over the president’s explicit attempts to take control of the central bank.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“Governor Cook has been thrust into a role she did not seek and doubtless would prefer to shed — suddenly being cast in a larger-than-life struggle to defend an institution that has helped foster the economic and financial success of the U.S. over the post-World War II period,” said David Wilcox, who is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former leader of the Fed’s research and statistics division.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">On Friday, a federal judge in Washington will hold the first hearing in the case, which will focus on Ms. Cook’s request for a temporary restraining order. If the court grants the order, it will allow her to continue serving on the Fed’s board while she contests her firing.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Ms. Cook was not expected to be in this position. Mr. Trump has made no secret of his desire for lower interest rates, or of his anger at central bank officials for refusing to deliver them. But for months Mr. Trump had focused his ire on Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, repeatedly threatening to fire him and, at one point, even <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/us/politics/trump-powell-firing-letter.html" title="">waving around a letter</a> that purported to do so.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and <a href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F08%2F29%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump-fed-independence-lisa-cook.html&asset=opttrunc">log into</a> your Times account, or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F08%2F29%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump-fed-independence-lisa-cook.html">subscribe</a> for all of The Times.</p><hr/></div><div class="css-1g71tqy"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-63woee" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-spinner" data-tpl="sp" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><g fill="currentColor"><path d="M11.28 22.8a.72.72 0 1 0 1.44 0v-6.72a.72.72 0 1 0-1.44 0v6.72Z" opacity=".37"></path><path d="M17.766 21.16a.72.72 0 1 0 1.165-.846l-3.95-5.436a.72.72 0 1 0-1.165.846l3.95 5.437Z" opacity=".26"></path><path d="M1.506 14.653a.72.72 0 0 0 .445 1.37l6.391-2.078a.72.72 0 1 0-.445-1.369l-6.39 2.077Z" opacity=".61"></path><path d="M5.07 20.314a.72.72 0 0 0 1.164.847l3.95-5.437a.72.72 0 1 0-1.165-.846l-3.95 5.436Z" opacity=".48"></path><path d="M22.049 16.022a.72.72 0 0 0 .445-1.37l-6.391-2.076a.72.72 0 1 0-.445 1.37l6.39 2.076Z" opacity=".17"></path><path d="M22.494 9.347a.72.72 0 1 0-.445-1.37l-6.391 2.078a.72.72 0 1 0 .445 1.369l6.39-2.077Z" opacity=".09"></path><path d="M6.234 2.84a.72.72 0 0 0-1.165.846l3.95 5.436a.72.72 0 0 0 1.165-.846l-3.95-5.437Z" opacity=".87"></path><path d="M1.951 7.978a.72.72 0 1 0-.445 1.37l6.391 2.076a.72.72 0 1 0 .445-1.37l-6.39-2.076Z" opacity=".74"></path><path d="M18.93 3.686a.72.72 0 0 0-1.164-.847l-3.95 5.437a.72.72 0 0 0 1.165.846l3.95-5.436Z" opacity=".02"></path><path d="M12.72 1.2a.72.72 0 1 0-1.44 0v6.72a.72.72 0 0 0 1.44 0V1.2Z"></path></g></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Already a subscriber? <a class="css-z5ryv4" data-testid="log-in-link" href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F08%2F29%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump-fed-independence-lisa-cook.html&asset=opttrunc">Log in</a>.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Want all of The Times? <a class="css-z5ryv4" data-testid="subscribe-link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F08%2F29%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump-fed-independence-lisa-cook.html">Subscribe</a>.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div>
How the Future of the Fed Came to Rest on Lisa Cook

Leave A Reply
Your email address will not be published.*