Supreme Court weighs Trump bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook
The Supreme Court will review President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Wednesday — a consequential and closely watched case that could give Trump an...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Supreme Court will review President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Wednesday — a consequential and closely watched case that could give Trump an unprecedented level of influence over the nation's central bank. Lawyers for the Trump administration asked the high court last fall to stay a lower judge's ruling that blocked Trump from immediately firing Cook from her post on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors until the court could consider a lawsuit she filed challenging her removal. The Supreme Court agreed to take up the case in October, but said Cook could remain in her post pending review — marking a rare instance in which justices on the conservative-majority court have rejected the administration's request for emergency intervention. That could be in part due to the novelty of the case. If successful, Trump's removal of Cook would mark the first time that a president has ever fired a sitting Fed governor in the bank's 112-year history. It also comes as tensions between Trump and the Fed have soared to a fever pitch. LAWYERS FOR COOK, DOJ TRADE BLOWS AT HIGH-STAKES CLASH OVER FED FIRING At issue in the case is whether Trump has satisfied a necessary "for cause" provision to fire Cook from the Fed's powerful, seven-member board. Trump announced his plans to fire Cook in a social media post in August, citing allegations of mortgage fraud leveled by Trump administration official Bill Pulte. Cook, for her part, has vehemently denied the allegations, which she described as "manufactured charges" designed to create a pretext for her removal. No charges have been brought against her to date. Her lawyers will argue in court Wednesday that Trump's attempt to fire her is "unprecedented and illegal," and a thinly veiled effort by Trump to wrest control over the Fed. "Granting that relief would dramatically alter the status quo, ignore centuries of history, and transform the Federal Reserve into a body subservient to the preside…