Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, PUBLIC EMPLOYEES—D.C. Cir.: Appeals court declines to disturb reinstatement of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, (Sep 16, 2025)

By Jason Albright, J.D.

The concurrence noted that the government did not dispute that it failed to provide Cook even minimal process.

The D.C. Circuit, in a brief per curiam order, denied the Trump administration’s motion to stay a federal district court order that reinstated Federal Reserve Governor Dr. Lisa D. Cook, who President Trump had purported to remove from office for “cause” on August 25. The appeals court found that the government failed to satisfy “the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal” under Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 434 (2009). Judge Garcia, joined by Judge Childs, concurred, and Judge Katsas dissented (Cook v. Trump, No. 25-5326 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 15, 2025)).

Decision below. On September 9, a federal district court in D.C. granted Cook a preliminary injunction in her suit challenging Trump’s decision to remove her from office. Cook, the district court found, “made a strong showing that her purported removal was done in violation of the Federal Reserve Act’s ‘for cause’ provision,” the best reading of which is that the bases for removal of a Federal Reserve Governor are “limited to grounds concerning a Governor’s behavior in office” rather than, as in Cook’s case, alleged conduct that “occurred before they began in office.” In addition, the district court found that the removal likely violated Cook’s procedural rights under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Stay pending appeal and administrative stay denied. The President moved for an emergency stay pending appeal and administrative stay from the D.C. Circuit, which the appeals court denied in a one-page per curiam order, citing “the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal. SeeNken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 434 (2009).”

Concurrence. In a concurrence joined by Judge Childs, Judge Garcia observed that “the government does not dispute that it failed to provide Cook even minimal process—that is, notice of the allegation against her and a meaningful opportunity to respond—before she was purportedly removed.” Agreeing with the district court that her removal likely violated the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, Garcia noted that he voted to deny the government’s emergency request for a stay “because of the myriad unique features of this case as compared to other recent challenges to presidential removals.”

Dissent. In a dissenting opinion, Judge Katsas noted that Trump removed Cook from her position “based on apparent misrepresentations Cook had made in applying for home mortgages.” The district court, in the view of Judge Katsas, was “mistaken” in holding both that “pre-appointment conduct of a federal officer cannot support for-cause removal from office,” and that Cook enjoys a constitutionally protected property interest in her office.

President Biden nominated Dr. Cook for a 14-year term on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on May 12, 2023. The term is set to expire in 2038.

The case is No. 25-5326.

Judge: Per curiam.

Attorneys: Abbe David Lowell (Lowell & Associates) for Lisa D. Cook. Daniel J. Aguilar, U.S. Department of Justice, for Donald J. Trump, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Jerome H. Powell.

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