'This is a win': Supreme Court issues rare decision to halt Trump’s firing of Lisa Cook

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook speaks at the Economic Club of New York in New York City, U.S., June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow President Donald Trump to immediately oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while she sues to keep her job, according to Bloomberg.

The conservative-leaning Roberts Court has rarely hesitated to cede Trump new power in his first nine months of office, particularly when it comes to firing federal employees or inhibiting the work of federal agencies created by Congress. The Court has granted the Trump administration requests to block lower court rulings in more than 70 percent of cases brought by the administration that were decided via the shadow docket.

But this time, the Court dealt a setback to Trump’s efforts to exert more control over the central bank. The short order means Cook can remain in her position until the justices rule after hearing arguments in the case in January. Cook has defied Trump’s attempt to fire her over thin mortgage fraud allegations and had remained on the job since late August.

“It’s far from over but this is a win for Fed independence for now,” said Tim Mahedy, a former senior adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. “It’s a bit like punting the football, we still have to deal with this in January.”

Bloomberg reports the possibility of Trump remaking the Fed has driven a group of former Fed and Treasury officials who served under Republican and Democratic administrations to appeal to justices in a friend-of-the-court brief, urging the Court to leave Cook in place. According to their appeal, research shows countries with independent central banks had consistently better economic outcomes.

Bulwark correspondent Andrew Egger described Trump’s pretext for removing Cook as “ridiculous.”

“Trump has relied on a loyal functionary wielding a formerly nonpartisan executive-branch post as a political weapon,” said Egger, referring to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who submitted the research to the White House suggesting a possible argument against Cook.

“But you know who just might have committed similar transgressions? Bill Pulte’s own parents,” said Egger, as well as “Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.”

Read the Bloomberg report at this link.

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