Overview
- The Court on June 29 denied the government’s request for a stay, so a lower-court order remains in place that allows Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to keep her job while her challenge to an attempted removal moves forward.
- The denial was procedural and did not decide the constitutional question of whether the president can remove Fed governors without cause.
- In a companion decision the same day, the Court narrowed long-standing for-cause protections for many multimember agencies, a shift that will make regulators such as the FTC, NLRB, and CFPB more vulnerable to presidential control.
- Legal teams, banks, and markets say the split treatment could matter for monetary policy and financial stability because the Fed’s independence affects interest rates and supervision while other agencies may now follow the president’s enforcement priorities.
- Next steps include continued appeals in the D.C. Circuit, further Supreme Court briefing on the merits, and possible congressional action to clarify removal rules and protect market confidence.