In the wake of a district court setback, the DOJ filed an emergency appeal on Thursday, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to stay a judge’s order that blocked President Donald Trump from removing Federal Reserve Board governor Lisa Cook, just before a crucial Fed meeting is set to occur.

The 24-page submission to the appellate court, which requests both an emergency and administrative stay pending appeal, highlighted a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that temporarily permits Trump to dismiss FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a decision Law&Crime previously analyzed for its potential impact on Cook’s case.

The motion initiated by stating that U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021, “made a series of legal errors” in her ruling on Tuesday. She determined that the mortgage fraud allegations, pertaining to a period before Cook’s tenure, failed to satisfy the “for cause” removal criterion.

Cook, appointed by Biden to begin her 14-year term in 2023, alongside her notable lawyer Abbe Lowell, initially argued that regardless of the disputed mortgage fraud accusations, the federal law specifies that the “best interpretation of the ‘for cause’ provision is restricted to reasons concerning a Governor’s conduct in office and their performance in fulfilling their statutory responsibilities,” not related solely to pre-confirmation allegations that Trump cited as “cause.”

The DOJ criticized Cobb’s stance as “extraordinary,” challenging Trump’s “use of his Article II authority.” The government asserts that the preliminary injunction improperly concluded that Cook is likely to succeed in her claim that Trump’s decisions for dismissal are subject to judicial review, that she was denied due process, and that her dismissal was not “for cause.”

Putting forth an expansive view of the president’s power to fire a principal officer at an institution historically insulated from political interference, the DOJ argued that Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte’s criminal referral against Cook and Trump’s subsequent move to fire her were lawful, even though Cook has not been charged or convicted of a crime and denies the allegations.

“Here, the evidence—which Cook has yet to offer contrary explanation for—was that she applied for two loans for her personal benefit, and was able to obtain favorable interest rates by misrepresenting where she lived,” the filing said. “Regardless of whether that misconduct occurred before or during office, it indisputably calls into question Cook’s trustworthiness and whether she can be a responsible steward of the interest rates and economy for the whole Nation.”

“Indeed, the district court had no problem confirming that the President would have cause to remove Cook if she was convicted of mortgage fraud based on her conduct before taking office,” the DOJ added. “Criminal conviction is not a prerequisite for removal under 12 U.S.C. § 242, and the President acted lawfully in removing Cook from office.”

Claiming Cook’s denials have “offered no meaningful explanation for her apparent contradictory statements about whether she primarily lived in her Michigan house or her Georgia house, both of which she stated would be her primary residence for essentially the same time,” the DOJ reiterated — by quoting none other than Alexander Hamilton — that the allegation “constitutes clear cause” for Trump to “consider and ultimately order” Cook’s removal for undermining “confidence” that she can be trusted:

As Alexander Hamilton made clear when discussing the Federal Reserve’s historical predecessor—the Bank of the United States—its principals must be entrusted with the “keen, steady, and, as it were, magnetic sense” of the “prosperity of the institution” for “careful and prudent administration,” because that is the “only basis on which an enlightened, unqualified and permanent confidence can be expected to be erected and maintained.” When Governors by misconduct or gross neglect erode the foundations of such confidence, the President acts properly and lawfully by removing them.

Crucially, the government is asking the D.C. Circuit to follow SCOTUS’ recent interim upending of Rebecca Slaughter’s reinstatement as FTC commissioner and to issue a stay before, what the DOJ indicates, is a key meeting Tuesday including the Federal Reserve Board, amid Trump’s calls for Fed chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates:

We also respectfully request that the Court act on the request for an administrative stay or a stay pending appeal by the close of business on Monday, September 15, 2025, as the Federal Open Market Committee—which includes the Board of Governors—is scheduled to meet and may direct open market activities for Federal Reserve Banks on September 16.

Cook attorneys Lowell and Norm Eisen previously hailed Cobb’s order by saying the decision, keeping Cook in place as the lawsuit proceeds, “recognizes and reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the independence of the Federal Reserve from illegal political interference.”

“Allowing the president to unlawfully remove Governor Cook on unsubstantiated and vague allegations would endanger the stability of our financial system and undermine the rule of law,” the attorneys said. “Governor Cook will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed Board Governor member.”