The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to immediately allow President Donald Trump to remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa D. Cook, escalating a constitutional clash over presidential power that could reverberate across global markets.
The request follows months of tension between the White House and the central bank, as Mr. Trump presses policymakers to cut interest rates and asserts control over independent agencies. While the court’s conservative majority has repeatedly sided with him in disputes over firing agency heads, the justices have also suggested the Fed may occupy a special category of insulation from political interference.
At issue is whether Mr. Trump has “cause” to dismiss Ms. Cook, a Biden appointee who joined the Fed in 2022. Justice Department lawyers argue the president can remove her because she allegedly engaged in mortgage fraud years before her appointment. Ms. Cook has not been charged with a crime and has denied wrongdoing.
The case reached the high court after lower courts blocked Mr. Trump’s attempt to oust her. On Sept. 9, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that conduct predating Ms. Cook’s service could not justify removal. A divided panel of the D.C. Circuit agreed this week, with Judges Bradley N. Garcia and J. Michelle Childs stressing that tenure protections for Fed governors were designed to assure markets of policy independence. Judge Gregory G. Katsas dissented, arguing that the allegations could constitute a felony and thus qualify as valid cause for dismissal.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices that lower-court rulings amounted to “improper judicial interference” with the president’s constitutional authority. The administration urged Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to allow Ms. Cook’s removal while litigation proceeds.
Ms. Cook’s lawyers countered that excluding her from this week’s policy meeting — where the Fed voted to cut rates for the first time since December — would have destabilized markets and undermined the central bank’s credibility.
The Supreme Court has previously distinguished the Fed from other agencies, calling it a “uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.” Whether that uniqueness shields Ms. Cook from removal could determine not only her future but also the balance of independence between the presidency and the nation’s central bank.
