The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday over how far President Donald Trump can go in removing a member of the Federal Reserve Board, in a case that experts said puts on the line the stability of the nation’s economy and balance of power between government branches.
Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook has challenged her firing, which the Trump administration says happened because she allegedly misrepresented her primary residence in mortgage paperwork before she was nominated to her position. Congress gave members “for cause” protections in the law creating the Fed, and lower courts agreed that the firing was likely unlawful and reinstated Cook.
The Trump administration has argued in its Supreme Court filings that the president should be able to remove Cook for the alleged violations. Although they don’t involve her conduct in office, Cook’s paperwork “at a minimum exhibited gross negligence in financial matters that rendered her unfit to help manage national financial matters,” the Justice Department said in court filings.
