Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in President Trump’s unprecedented attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a move that challenges the central bank's independence. Here’s what to know:
Why it matters: The case is the most consequential test of the Federal Reserve's independence in more than a century of existence. The arguments will focus on whether the justices will shield the world's most important central bank from political influence, as Congress intended, or allow Trump to clean house as he sees fit. Read more about what legal experts say here.
Context: Cook, an appointee of former President Biden and the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor, sued Trump in August after he sought to fire her. Trump claims that Cook committed mortgage fraud before being appointed to the Fed in 2022, an allegation she denied and described as a pretext to try to remove her for her monetary policy stance. The justices allowed Cook to remain in her post as the case plays out after allowing Trump to remove officials from other agencies with similar tenure protections while those cases proceed.
Who: D. John Sauer of the DOJ for the government; Paul Clement of Clement & Murphy for Cook.
