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The Trump administration escalated its confrontation with Federal Reserve independence Thursday, asking the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency order to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook from the central bank's board.
The Justice Department's filing to the high court comes after a federal appeals court rejected the administration's efforts to oust Cook, whom Trump has targeted with unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud. The move represents an unprecedented challenge to the Fed's traditional autonomy from political interference.
"This application involves yet another case of improper judicial interference with the President's removal authority – here, interference with the President's authority to remove members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for cause," the Justice Department argued in its Supreme Court filing.
Cook, who has denied any wrongdoing, was appointed by former President Joe Biden and is the first Black woman to serve on the Fed's board of governors. Her lawyers contend the president lacks authority to remove her from the position, which carries a term extending until 2038.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that Trump's mortgage fraud allegations against Cook were likely insufficient grounds for removal under federal law governing the Fed. The temporary restraining order blocking Cook's dismissal prompted the administration's appeal to the Supreme Court.
The legal battle unfolds as Trump pursues what he has publicly described as plans to build "a majority" on the Fed's board, breaking with decades of precedent that has kept the central bank insulated from direct political pressure.
Despite failing to remove Cook before this week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the White House successfully installed Stephen Miran, a senior White House economic official, as a new Fed governor in time for the policy session. Miran dissented from the committee's decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, advocating instead for a deeper reduction.
The administration's efforts to reshape Fed leadership come amid mixed economic signals. Recent data showing a stalled labor market and rising inflation have prompted most Fed officials to approach policy changes cautiously. The Trump administration has downplayed these official reports and dismissed at least one official responsible for overseeing economic data collection.
Cook, a respected economist with previous positions at Harvard and Stanford universities, voted with the majority to approve the quarter-point rate cut at this week's meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires next year, emphasized afterward: "We're strongly committed to maintaining our independence."
Trump has repeatedly broken with presidential tradition by publicly demanding rate cuts and criticizing Fed leadership. Ahead of this week's meeting, he wrote on Truth Social that Powell "MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER THAN HE HAD IN MIND."
The Supreme Court case will test the boundaries of presidential authority over the Federal Reserve, an institution designed by Congress to operate independently of short-term political pressures while conducting monetary policy.
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