Supreme Court Stops Trump From Firing Fed Governor — For Now
The Supreme Court stopped President Donald Trump from firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook on Wednesday, pausing her removal until the court can hear the case.
Trump had asked the high court to stay an appeals court ruling that Cook can keep her job, which is supposed to be independent from the executive branch and political interference.
The Supreme Court denied Trump’s request and said Cook can remain in her position through January, when the court is likely to make a final ruling on the issue.
Trump fired Cook from her position after his Federal Housing Finance Agency chief, Bill Pulte, accused her of mortgage fraud, an accusation that has since been rebutted by reporting. The president can only fire a Fed governor for cause, and generally has little power to influence the independent body. Fox News legal analyst and National Review contributing editor, Andrew McCarthy, explained last month why the case against Cook appears to be a weak one.
Pulte accused Cook of declaring both a home in Michigan and one in Georgia as her primary residence, which would constitute fraud. “Pulte’s allegations against Cook have been weakened in the last few days,” McCarthy explained in his mid-September analysis, adding:
In 2021, the year before she was appointed to the Fed, Cook purchased homes in Michigan and, a few weeks later, in Atlanta. Pulte says that her mortgage documents represented both homes as her primary residence. Perhaps so, but it now appears that when Cook applied for the loan on the Atlanta property, she disclosed to her credit union that it would be a vacation home (not her primary residence). Moreover, when she was nominated for the Fed and subject to the confirmation process, she similarly explained to the government that the Atlanta property was a “second home” (again, not her primary residence).
McCarthy went on to shred Trump for firing Cook based on Pulte’s allegations, which had yet to result in any kind of indictment or legal process: “Trump relied entirely on Pulte’s information to rationalize firing Cook. It now appears that Pulte’s information is either wrong or materially incomplete. Even conceding that a president’s discretion may be broad, it is an abuse of discretion to decide a significant matter based on flawed information.”
Trump has long targeted the Fed, slamming its chairman for not lowering interest rates faster. Trump’s attacks on the independent monetary agency have alarmed economists who fear that Trump exercising influence over the Fed could create turmoil in the global economy, as monetary policy would no longer be seen as independent or in the best interest of investors.
This is a developing story and has been updated.
