WASHINGTON (TNND) — Supreme Court justices seemed inclined on Wednesday to keep Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook on the board despite President Donald Trump's attempt to fire her over alleged mortgage fraud.

Allowing Cook's firing to go forward "would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve,” said Justice Brett Kavanaugh, one of three Trump appointees on the nation's highest court.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who also seemed skeptical of Trump's actions, suggested it may be pointless to return the case to lower courts rather than issue a more enduring ruling.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell attended the arguments in person and sat through nearly two hours of arguments.

The case against Cook stems from allegations she claimed two properties, in Michigan and Georgia, as “primary residences” in June and July 2021, before she joined the Fed board. Such claims can lead to a lower mortgage rate and smaller down payment than if one of them were declared as a rental property or second home.

In October, the justices allowed Cook to remain in her role, going against the Trump administration’s effort to remove her from the central bank as they wage an unprecedented battle over interest rates.

Cook, who is a Biden-appointee, has said she will not leave her job and will not be “bullied” by Trump. One of her lawyers, Abbe Lowell, has said she “will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed Board Governor.”

The development follows the Justice Department's opening of an investigation into the Federal Reserve's renovation of its D.C. headquarters and Powell.

Prosecutors allege Powell lied to Congress while testifying last June about the cost of the renovations, which have grown from around $1.9 billion to at least $2.5 billion.

The Fed said the rise in cost is because of materials, labor and unexpected complications like asbestos. But critics, including Trump, have called the project a misuse of funds.

Senate Republican Leader John Thune warned that the DOJ's investigation into the Federal Reserve "better be serious" and that he wants the agency to be "free from politics."

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who is leading the investigation, said in a social media post that her office “makes decisions based on the merits, nothing more and nothing less.”

The true motivation for trying to fire Cook, Trump’s critics say, is the Republican president’s desire to exert control over U.S. interest rate policy. If Trump succeeds in removing Cook, the first Black woman Federal Reserve governor, he could replace her with his own appointee and gain a majority on the Fed’s board.

The board cut a key interest rate three times in a row in the last four months of 2025, but that’s more slowly than Trump wants. The Fed also suggested it may leave rates unchanged in coming months over inflation worries.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.