Washington (AP) – President Donald Trump I’m trying to fire One of the seven Federal Reserve governors likely will likely end in court, allowing a clearer definition of the limits of the president’s legal authority over traditionally independent agencies.
Legal experts say that the Republican president can fire him Lisa Cookthe person appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, is on a volatile ground. However, this is an unprecedented move and has not previously been unfolded in court. This year’s Supreme Court is more pleased to remove agency officials from the president than in the past.
If Trump succeeds in removing the cook from the board, it could be eroding Fed political independencewhich is considered important for their ability to combat inflation, as they can take unpopular measures like the Fed cultivate. interest rate. The less independent Fed can pay higher fees for mortgages, auto and business loans as investors demand higher interest rates to offset greater inflation and boost borrowing costs across the economy.
“It’s an illegal dismissal, but the president will argue, “The Constitution will let me do that,” said Rev Menand, a law professor at Columbia University and author of a book on the Fed. “And that discussion has worked in a few other cases so far this year.”
Menand said supreme court It interprets the meaning of the constitution and “in this case we can create a new constitution.”
The most likely next step for Cook He has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Board In 2022, seeking an injunction against Trump’s order that would allow her to continue her job as governor. However, the situation puts the Fed in a difficult position.
“They have their own legal obligation to follow the law,” Menand said. “And that doesn’t mean that the President does anything that says… The Fed has an independent obligation to reach its own conclusions about the legality of Lisa Cook’s removal.”
In a letter posted on his Truth Social Platform late Monday, Trump said he was quickly removing Cook due to allegations that he committed a mortgage fraud.
Cook said Monday night that she would not resign. “President Trump claimed he would fire me ‘for a cause’ when there is no cause under the law, but he has no authority to do so,” she said in an email. “I will not resign.”
Bill Palt, Trump’s appointee for the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, filed accusations last week. Pulte claimed that Cook had obtained better mortgage terms in 2021, claiming two major residences in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Atlanta. Mortgage fees are often higher in your second home or in the home you purchased to rent.
Cook holds Abbe Lowell, a prominent Washington lawyer. Lowell said Trump’s “reflections towards bullies are flawed and his demands lack the proper process, foundation or legal authority.”
Cook was the first black woman to serve as governor. She is a Marshall academic, holds degrees from Oxford and Spellman University, and teaches at the Kennedy University government at Michigan State University and Harvard University.
