The Federal Reserve governor's battle to keep her seat has become the most expensive test of central bank independence in modern history
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has racked up more than $1 million in legal and security costs fighting President Donald Trump’s attempt to remove her from the Fed Board. A legal filing revealed the staggering tab, underscoring just how personally costly the constitutional standoff has become for the first Black woman ever appointed to the institution.
Trump moved to fire Cook on August 25, 2025, sending a letter that cited alleged mortgage fraud involving two properties she designated as primary residences in loan applications dating back to 2021. Cook has denied any wrongdoing, and no criminal charges have been filed against her.
A firing letter, a lawsuit, and a Supreme Court date
Cook didn’t go quietly. She pursued legal action to block her dismissal, and the case, known as Trump v. Cook, has since escalated all the way to the Supreme Court. Oral arguments were heard on January 21, 2026.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell called the case potentially the “most important legal case in the Fed’s 113-year history.”
Cook was sworn in on May 23, 2022, after being appointed by President Biden. Her term is set to run until 2038.
Cook has acknowledged that her previous actions regarding the property designations were “improper” but maintains they were not unlawful.
