TODAY’S WHITE HOUSE story

Trump asks Supreme Court to OK Fed’s Cook ouster

What happened
President Donald Trump yesterday 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.

TODAY’S IMMIGRATION Story

Judge says DOJ misled to deport Guatemalan kids

What happened
A federal judge yesterday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan children, some of whom endured a failed bid to fly them out of the country in the middle of the night over Labor Day weekend. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said the Justice Department had made false claims in court to justify its “hasty operation,” and the timing of the attempt raised doubts about whether officials were acting in “good faith.”

Who said what
After a different federal judge temporarily blocked the early-morning deportations on Aug. 31, the administration said it had “rousted 76 children from their beds at federal shelters and foster homes and loaded them onto airplanes because they and their parents wanted to reunite,” The Washington Post said. “But that explanation crumbled like a house of cards,” said Kelly, appointed by President Donald Trump. “There is no evidence before the court that the parents of these children sought their return,” and significant evidence “to the contrary.”

A Justice Department lawyer conceded to Kelly in an earlier hearing that the Trump administration couldn’t back up its initial claim. Kelly also pointed to a whistleblower report shared with Congress on Tuesday that showed dozens of the children cleared for deportation had been flagged in a government database as likely victims of child abuse, death threats, gang violence or human trafficking. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said yesterday that Kelly was “blocking efforts to REUNIFY CHILDREN with their families” in a “disgraceful and immoral” ruling “just to ‘get Trump.’”

What next?
Kelly said his preliminary injunction blocked the Trump administration from sending minors to Guatemala unless an immigration judge ordered the deportation or they petition to leave voluntarily.

It’s not all bad

A majority of people who participated in a study on psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat clinical depression are still in remission five years later, new research has found. Participants in the Johns Hopkins University–led trial received doses of psilocybin, the main psychoactive substance in psychedelic mushrooms. Today, most report they still believe the treatment was “safe, meaningful, important and something that catalyzed an ongoing betterment of their life,” said lead author Alan Davis, a professor at Ohio State University.

Under the radar

‘Anti-Islam’ bikers are guarding Gaza aid centers

Members of an anti-Islamic U.S. biker gang are helping run the security operations at controversial humanitarian sites in Gaza. At least seven members of the Infidels MC gang are in leading roles overseeing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) centers, which are backed by Israel and the Trump administration. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed while trying to secure food at the sites.

The members of Infidels MC, set up in 2006 by U.S. Iraq War veterans, regard themselves as modern Crusaders, using the Crusader cross as their symbol. The group’s connection with UG Solutions, a private contractor providing security at GHF sites, was first reported last month by news site Zeteo. Johnny Mulford, an alleged Infidels member also known as “Taz,” was revealed to be the lead contact for UG Solutions.

When BBC investigative reporters emailed Mulford to ask about the link between UG Solutions and Infidels MC, he hit “reply all” and told members not to respond to the broadcaster, accidentally revealing the identities of 10 Infidels working in Gaza. According to a former contractor, at least 40 of about 320 people hired to work for UG Solutions in Gaza were recruited from Infidels MC, seven of them in senior positions.

The United Nations says the GHF allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and is ineffective at delivering aid. U.S. senators have raised concerns over rising death tolls near the aid sites, the foundation’s “apparent coordination” with the Israeli army and its “reported use” of private military contractors linked to intelligence operations, said The Guardian.

On this day

September 19, 1994

The medical drama “ER” premiered on NBC. The show, depicting the lives of an emergency room team in Chicago, starred George Clooney, Julianna Margulies and Noah Wyle and became a cultural phenomenon. More than 30 years later, Wyle just won his first Emmy Award for his role in another medical show, HBO’s “The Pitt.”

TODAY’S newspaperS

‘Push to police speech’

“Trump hits the media with everything he has,” The New York Times says on Friday’s front page. “Trump pushes to silence opponents,” says The Wall Street Journal. “Kimmel’s suspension raises fears of new censorship era” as the “push to police speech breaks with GOP’s typical rhetoric,” The Washington Post says. “Colbert, Kimmel — who’s next?” says the New York Daily News. “GOP lawmaker makes blockbuster claim: FBI has at least 20 names of suspected Epstein clients,” the Miami Herald says. “Trump gripes in royal company,” railing against “migrants and the 2020 election outcome” at “castle banquet,” says the Los Angeles Times.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

Swimming with the riches

A man wearing scuba gear robbed a Florida restaurant and escaped by swimming away. The incident took place at Paddlefish, in the Disney Springs entertainment complex in Lake Buena Vista. Authorities say the man entered the manager’s office while employees were depositing cash into a safe, grabbed the money and fled. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office released an image of the suspect wearing a wetsuit, goggles, gloves and hood.

Morning Report was written and edited by Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Chas Newkey-Burden, Rafi Schwartz, Peter Weber and Kari Wilkin, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.