The high-stakes showdown between US President Donald Trump’s administration and the US central bank intensified on Monday as an appeals court blocked the White House from removing US Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her post for now.
The divided court in Washington affirmed that Cook can continue working while her lawsuit challenging Trump’s move to dismiss her proceeds.
The 2-1 ruling came just hours before the start of the Fed’s highly anticipated meeting yesterday and today to vote on interest rates.
Photo: AFP
While the decision makes it more likely the embattled economist would attend the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Trump could still ask the US Supreme Court to step in.
The US Department of Justice said in a statement that it “does not comment on current or prospective litigation including matters that may be an investigation.”
The Fed declined to comment, while representatives of Cook and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Cook sued Trump last month after the president moved to oust her over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she denies. The lawsuit has emerged as a major flash point in the growing clash between the White House and the Fed, which has resisted Trump’s demands to lower interest rates.
As Cook fights to stay in her position, White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran is on his way to joining the Fed board after the US Senate confirmed him to the post in a vote on Monday evening.
He fills a seat vacated by former Fed governor Adriana Kugler.
Republicans fast-tracked approval of Miran’s nomination with Trump pressuring the central bank to cut interest rates.
Investors and economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect Fed officials to lower rates by a quarter percentage point today, the first rate cut since December last year.
Undeterred, Trump predicted a “big cut” from the central bank.
Miran told senators he would take an unpaid leave of absence from the economic advisers council to join the Fed, with no clarity yet on how long he might remain.
Trump could nominate him for a full 14-year term to begin in February next year, or he could choose someone else.
Miran could also stay on indefinitely if Trump chooses no one to fill the new term.
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