A federal judge needs to hear more before she rules on a temporary restraining order that would allow Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to remain on the central bank’s board while allegations of mortgage fraud leveled against her by President Donald Trump are litigated.

A two-hour emergency hearing ended Friday without a ruling from U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, according to multiple media feeds that played out almost in real time from the district court in Washington, D.C.

Cook is alleged to have claimed residences in two states as her primary residence to potentially obtain more favorable mortgage terms, then allegedly received rental income from one of the properties.

Those claims were laid out in a criminal referral letter sent to Department of Justice officials on Aug. 15 by Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Trump used that letter as justification for his attempted firing of Cook, writing in a letter to Cook posted to his Truth Social account that “I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position.”

On Thursday, Pulte posted a second criminal referral letter to his personal X account. It alleges that Cook took out a mortgage in 2021 for a condominium in Massachusetts as a second home. She then allegedly represented the condo as an investment property in government filings and received rental income from it.

The second DOJ referral letter does not appear to be part of the exhibits considered during Friday’s court hearing, as it was sent after Trump announced his intention to fire Cook on Monday.

Attorneys for Cook argue that Trump’s attempt to remove her from office does not satisfy the “for cause” provision of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 (FRA). The complaint filed Thursday alleges that Trump’s motivation for firing Cook hinged on his desire for lower interest rates, and that her removal would allow the president to nominate a replacement more likely to favor looser monetary policy.

“Even if the President had been more careful in obscuring his real justification for targeting Governor Cook, the President’s concocted basis for removal — the unsubstantiated and unproven allegation that Governor Cook ‘potentially’ erred in filling out a mortgage form prior to her Senate confirmation — does not amount to ‘cause’ within the meaning of the FRA and is unsupported by caselaw,” the complaint states.

Justice Department attorneys representing the president fired back in opposition to the requested restraining order, arguing in a court filing that “the President retains broad discretion to remove a Governor for ‘cause.’” They added that the “President’s judgment about what constitutes ‘cause’ is not subject to judicial second-guessing.”

“Incredibly, Dr. Cook even now hazards no explanation for her conduct and points to nothing she would say or prove in any ‘hearing’ that would conceivably alter the President’s determination that the perception of financial misconduct alone is intolerable in this role,” the filing from Trump’s attorneys reads. “Under these circumstances, there is certainly no equitable basis for a reinstatement injunction.”

Judge Cobb appeared to push back on arguments from both Cook’s and Trump’s lawyers during the hearing, according to media reports.

Cobb said she was “uncomfortable with the pretext argument” that Trump had ulterior motives for firing Cook based on her monetary policy opinions.

“If the cause is legitimate, are you suggesting I have to find it was the sole reason?” Cobb asked Abbe David Lowell, the lead attorney for Cook, according to The Wall Street Journal.

But Cobb also pushed back on the defense attorneys’ argument that the judiciary should be “highly deferential” to the president’s judgment.

“Deferential doesn’t mean that there’s no probing of it,” the judge said, according to CNN.

Additionally, Cobb was skeptical that Trump’s posting of the letter announcing Cook’s firing to social media satisfied due process requirements.

“Was anything sent to her directly?” she asked. “You still have to serve someone. You have to give them information.”

Cobb has requested that additional written arguments be submitted to her by Tuesday, leaving open the possibility that she may rule on the matter early next week.