Who Lisa Cook is in the Trump-Fed dispute

Lisa Cook is a Federal Reserve governor whose background in economics and public service has placed her at the center of a major legal fight involving President Donald Trump and the central bank. Cook was appointed to the Fed board by President Joe Biden in 2022, becoming the first Black woman to serve as a governor on the sevenmember panel. The board helps set U.S. interest rates and oversees the banking system. The dispute began after Trump said he was removing Cook over allegations that she misrepresented information related to mortgages she obtained before joining the Fed. Cook has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged. She sued to block her removal, and lower courts had temporarily kept her in office before the Supreme Court ruled in her favor Monday, preserving the Fed’s independence protections. Before joining the central bank, Cook taught at Harvard University and Michigan State University. She also served as a senior economist on President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and held a senior role at the Treasury Department. Her current term runs through January 2038.