WASHINGTON
The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal Thursday to the Supreme Court seeking to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook.
“The Federal Reserve Board plays a uniquely important role in the American economy,” it argued in the filing, adding that “interest rates paid by the American people should not be set by a Governor who appears to have lied about facts material to the interest rates she secured for herself — and refuses to explain the misrepresentations.”
“This Court should stay the district court’s deeply flawed preliminary injunction and should grant an immediate administrative stay,” it added.
Trump lawyers argued Cook can be removed “for cause” under the Federal Reserve Act, pointing to alleged mortgage fraud predating her Fed service.
Lower courts blocked Trump’s effort, with a US district judge ruling that Cook could not be removed for alleged conduct predating her tenure.
Trump announced Aug. 25 that he fired Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a governor on the Federal Reserve Board.
If Trump prevails, it would mark the first time in the central bank’s 111-year history that a president has removed a governor.
Cook denied any wrongdoing, while her lawyers contend that Trump is only using allegations of mortgage fraud as a pretext, and the president is using her potential removal as part of a campaign to persuade the Fed to lower interest rates.