ISTANBUL

The US Supreme Court appears likely to reject President Donald Trump's attempt to immediately remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook after hearing arguments Wednesday.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing Trump, was cautioned by Justice Brett Kavanaugh about the consequences of his claim that Trump may fire Cook or other Fed governors "for cause," or without a court examination of the validity of that alleged cause.

“Your position that there’s no judicial review, no process required, no remedy available, very low bar for cause, that the president alone determines, and that would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve,” said Kavanaugh, one of the court’s six conservative justices.

In September, Cook filed a lawsuit against Trump, contesting the president's purported authority to summarily remove her due to unproven claims of mortgage fraud.

“The real question is to what extent we believe the public is harmed to allow Ms. Cook to remain in post during the pendency of this case?” asked Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

"We assert grievous, irreparable injury to the public perception to the Federal Reserve of allowing [Cook] to stay in office," Sauer replied.

“Do you have evidence other than the president’s view?" Jackson asked.

In addition to Cook's destiny, which she denies any wrongdoing, the Fed's future autonomy to choose monetary policy is at risk, as is the possibility that a president may simply dismiss a governor who does not follow his instructions on that matter.

The recent revelation by Fed Chair Jerome Powell that he is the focus of a criminal investigation by the US Attorney's Office in Washington, DC, in relation to his supervision of a multibillion-dollar renovation of the central bank's headquarters, highlighted those risks.

Powell, who was present at the arguments, has stated that the Fed's decision to keep interest rates unchanged for the most of the previous year, which infuriated Trump, is the true cause of that investigation.