What happened
President Donald Trump Thursday asked the Supreme Court for permission to immediately oust Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, escalating his unprecedented effort to seize control of the independent U.S. central bank. Trump petitioned Chief Justice John Roberts for an administrative stay that would effectively remove Cook from the Fed board before the full court considered his emergency appeal.
Who said what
Trump’s request sets up a “key test of presidential power with potentially huge economic consequences,” The New York Times said. While the high court’s conservative majority has “repeatedly allowed” Trump to “at least provisionally” fire other nominally independent agency heads without a stated reason, the justices have also “suggested that the Fed may be uniquely insulated from presidential meddling under the law.”
Trump’s “incursion on the Federal Reserve” represents the “culmination of his bid to assume control of all facets of the executive branch,” no matter their intended insulation, said Politico. The Justice Department argues that unsubstantiated allegations of mortgage fraud, “made by a Trump political appointee,” give the president sufficient “cause” to fire Cook, The Wall Street Journal said. Cook and her lawyers deny the allegations, calling them a “pretext for her firing to vacate a seat” on the Fed board and pointing to exculpatory documents.
What next?
Cook’s lawsuit challenging her ouster will continue in federal court — where a judge and appellate court have blocked the firing as likely unlawful — regardless of whether Roberts grants Trump’s request. The next scheduled Fed meeting begins Oct. 28.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘We owe it to our young people not to lie to them anymore’instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Chile picks leftist, far-right candidates for runoff voteSpeed Read The presidential runoff election will be between Jeannette Jara, a progressive from President Gabriel Boric’s governing coalition, and far-right former congressman José Antonio Kast
-
The 8 greatest heist movies of all timethe week recommends True stories, social commentary and pure escapism highlight these great robbery movies
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Is Marjorie Taylor Greene undergoing a political realignment?TALKING POINTS The MAGA firebrand made a name for herself in Congress as one of the Donald Trump’s most unapologetic supporters. One year into Trump’s second term, a shift is afoot.
-
How are these Epstein files so damaging to Trump?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Republicans and Democrats release dueling tranches of Epstein-related documents, the White House finds itself caught in a mess partially of its own making
-
Will California tax its billionaires?Talking Points A proposed one-time levy would shore up education and Medicaid
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
