Senate confirms Trump Fed pick Stephen Miran as appeals court blocks effort to oust embattled banker Lisa Cook

President Trump’s nominee to join the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, Stephen Miran, was confirmed by the full Senate on Monday — while an appeals court denied the commander in chief’s effort to remove embattled central banker Lisa Cook ahead of a key meeting on interest rates.

The Senate voted 48-47 to confirm Miran’s nomination — with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joining all Democrats in voting against Trump’s pick for the central bank.

The president tapped Miran, head of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), to replace Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee who abruptly stepped down last month.

Stephen Miran, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, walks at the White House, Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Washington. ( — Stephen Miran, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, walks at the White House, Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Washington. AP

Lisa Cook, Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, at a meeting. — Lisa Cook, member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve, attends a Federal Reserve Board open meeting in Washington, DC, on June 25, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

Miran will serve out the rest of Kugler’s term on the board, which ends on Jan. 31, 2026.

Just minutes before the Senate confirmed Miran, a divided panel on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected the Trump administration’s emergency motion to overturn a lower court order allowing Cook to remain at the Federal Reserve as she fights her firing.

“Appellants have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal,” Biden-appointed Appellate Judges Brad Garcia and J. Michelle Childs ruled.

Judge Gregory Kastas, a Trump appointee, dissented, arguing that the administration is likely to succeed in appealing that Cook’s alleged conduct before being appointed on the board of governors can be used as grounds for “for cause” removal.

Washington, DC-based District Judge Jia M. Cobb, a Biden appointee, ordered Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the board of governors “to allow Cook to continue to operate as a member of the Board for the pendency of this litigation.”

Cobb’s ruling, upheld by the appeals court panel, found that Cook “made a strong showing that her purported removal was done in violation of the Federal Reserve Act’s ‘for cause’ provision” — which states Federal Reserve governors can only be removed “for behavior in office” and for not “faithfully and effectively executing their statutory duties.”

“Imagine a Governor who amassed his great wealth and stellar reputation based on financial fraud discovered only after he took office,” Kastas wrote in his dissent. “Imagine a Governor who is discovered to have bribed a Senator to ensure confirmation. Or imagine a Governor who is discovered to have committed murder before taking office.

“Such pre-appointment acts clearly would relate to the ‘conduct, ability, fitness, or competence of the officer’ for the office,” he added. “That is enough for the government to succeed on Cook’s section 242 claim.”

Trump attempted to fire Cook last month over allegations that she improperly listed two properties — an Atlanta condo and a Michigan home — as her primary residence in 2021, possibly committing mortgage fraud.

Miran’s confirmation and the appeals court ruling come one day before The Fed’s Board of Governors and several Reserve Bank presidents are scheduled to meet to discuss US monetary policy — including potential changes to interest rates — on Sept. 16 and 17 in Washington, DC.

The president has been aiming to replace members of the independent central bank with individuals more likely to support slashing interest rates.