WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday took his bid to fire central bank governor Lisa Cook to the Supreme Court.
Trump has sought to oust Cook from the Federal Reserve Board over allegations of mortgage fraud, but an appeals court ruled she could remain in her role for now.
The ruling allowed Cook to participate in a two-day meeting this week during which the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for the first time this year.
In a filing with the Supreme Court, Solicitor General John Sauer asked that Trump be allowed to fire Cook immediately.
Lower court rulings allowing her to remain in her post were “improper judicial interference with the President’s removal authority,” Sauer said.
Federal Reserve governors can only be removed “for cause” and the solicitor general said Trump had determined that the mortgage fraud allegations make Cook “unfit to continue serving on the Federal Reserve Board.”
Among the alleged false statements attributed to Cook, she is accused of claiming two primary residences, one in Michigan and another in Georgia.
Cook, who was appointed by Democratic president Joe Biden and is the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board, has denied the allegations and has not been charged with a crime.
She filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s bid to fire her, calling it an “unprecedented and illegal” move.
The legal dispute marks the latest test of presidential powers under Trump, as the 79-year-old Republican moves forcefully to exert executive authority over all of government.
By removing Cook, Trump could add another voice to the Fed’s board to try and sway its decisions on interest rates.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority recently allowed Trump to fire members of other independent government boards, but it created a potential carveout for the Fed in its ruling. – AFP
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