(Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court declined on Monday to allow Donald Trump to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook - the first time a president has pursued such action since the central bank's founding in 1913 - in the latest step in a legal battle that threatens the Fed's longstanding independence. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit means that Cook can for now remain at the Fed ahead of its policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday where it is expected to cut U.S. interest rates to shore up a cooling labor market. The D.C. Circuit denied the Justice Department's request to put on hold a judge's order temporarily blocking the Republican president from removing Cook, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden.