Overview

• Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed an emergency application asking the justices to lift lower-court orders that keep Lisa Cook on the Federal Reserve Board.
• U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb blocked the removal and a divided D.C. Circuit panel declined to lift her order, citing likely due-process violations before any firing.
• Cook remained in office for the Sept. 16–17 policy meeting and voted for a quarter-point interest-rate cut.
• The Justice Department has opened a criminal mortgage-fraud probe and issued grand jury subpoenas in Georgia and Michigan, though no charges have been filed and Cook denies wrongdoing.
• Documents reviewed by news outlets indicate Cook labeled an Atlanta property as a vacation or second home, and the dispute presents an unprecedented test of the Fed’s statutory removal protections.