Court temporarily blocks Trump’s move to fire Lisa Cook, says Fed Governor 'likely to win' lawsuit against POTUS
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Court temporarily blocks Trump’s move to fire Lisa Cook, says Fed Governor 'likely to win' lawsuit against POTUS")
Donald Trump, Lisa Cook Photograph: (Combination created using images from AFP)
A US federal court has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Judge Jia Cobb ruled that Cook was "substantially likely" to succeed in her lawsuit.
A US federal court on Tuesday (Sep 9) temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. This comes just a week before a highly anticipated Fed rate meeting and as Cook legally challenges Trump's attempt to sack her. Judge Jia Cobb has granted Cook some respite, letting her stay on the US Central bank's board while her lawsuit against Trump plays out. Judge Cobb noted that it was "substantially likely" that Cook would succeed in her attempt at a legal recourse.
What did the judge say?
In her opinion, Judge Cobb said that Cook was "substantially likely" to succeed in certain claims, including the argument that Trump was overstepping and violating the Federal Reserve Act. Cook has claimed that her removal does not comply with the Act's statute "for cause" requirement.
"The publicinterest in Federal Reserve independence weighs in favor of Cook's reinstatement," noted the judge.
Cobb also noted that Cook's removal was the first of its kind "in the Federal Reserve's 111-year history," and questioned the nature of the Trump administration's accusations against the fed governor. "'For cause' thus does not contemplate removing an individual purely for conduct that occurred before they began in office," the judge wrote.
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Why did Trump fire Cook?
The action, as per reports, is based on allegations by a Trump loyalist that the Fed governor had obtained mortgages on two homes while allegedly claiming they were her primary homes. The allegations have not been proved.
Trump, in a letter to Cook, stated that he has "determined that there is sufficient cause" in the allegations against her to fire her. “At a minimum, the conduct at issue exhibits the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator,” he added in his letter.
However, reports suggest that Cook's ignoring Trump's demands for lower interest rates could be behind the move. As per the Guardian, Cook's removal — a Joe Biden appointment — would allow Trump to bring in a replacement that would essentially give him more control of the federal policy.
