The Trump administration asked the US supreme court to allow it to fire the Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, as it continues its extraordinary attack on the central bank’s independence.
In a filing on Thursday, Donald Trump’s officials requested an emergency order to remove Cook from the Fed’s board of governors, after an appeals court refused to go along with efforts to oust her.
The request sets the stage for a historic test of presidential power. Trump has sought to fire Cook – citing unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud – while he pursues greater control of the Fed, which has for decades operated without political interference.
But lawyers for Cook, who has denied wrongdoing, have argued that the US president has no authority to fire her.
The administration failed to dismiss Cook in time for this week’s latest Fed policy meeting, where the central bank decided to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
But the White House did successfully install Stephen Miran, a top White House economic official, as a Fed governor just in time for the meeting. He dissented from the rest of the committee, and voted for a deeper rate cut.
Earlier this month, US district judge Jia Cobb ruled Trump’s allegations that Cook committed mortgage fraud before taking office were probably not sufficient grounds for removal under the law that created the Fed.
The justice department is now turning to the supreme court to request that Cobb’s order, which temporarily blocked Trump from removing Cook, be lifted.
“This application involves yet another case of improper judicial interference with the President’s removal authority – here, interference with the president’s authority to remove members of the Federal Reserve board of governors for cause,” the department argued in its filing.
Trump has made no secret of his plans to influence the Fed, calling into question the future of its longstanding independence by publicly describing plans to swiftly build “a majority” on its board.
He has repeatedly broken with precedent to demand interest rate cuts, and attack senior Fed officials, including its chair, Jerome Powell, when they repeatedly defied these calls.
Cook, an appointee of Joe Biden, is a respected economist, with stints at Harvard University and Stanford University, and the first Black woman to sit on the Fed’s board of governors. Her term is not due to expire until 2038.
Concerning economic signs, including data indicating that the labor market has stalled and inflation has picked up, have prompted most officials at the Fed to tread carefully.
The administration has played down these official reports – and fired one of the officials responding for overseeing them. Trump’s proposed replacement is an ardent supporter of his agenda, who has been accused of misrepresenting and exaggerating statistics.
Ahead of this week’s Fed policy meeting, Trump reiterated his call for lower rates. Powell “MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER THAN HE HAD IN MIND”, the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform.
At the meeting, Cook voted with the majority, in favor of cutting rates by 25 basis points. Powell, whose term as Fed chair will expire next year, stressed afterwards: “We’re strongly committed to maintaining our independence.”
