Trump officials ask Supreme Court to allow firing of Fed governor

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented move that would give the president greater power over the central bank and its unparalleled role in steering the U.S. economy.

Cook participated in a two-day Federal Reserve meeting this week where the central bank cut interest rates by a quarter percent amid signs of a softening labor market. Cook voted to lower the rate.

“The President lawfully removed Lisa Cook for cause,” Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said in a statement Tuesday. He added the administration “looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”

If the high court decides to hear the case on Cook’s firing, it will be one of a trio of current cases in which the high court will decide whether to greatly expand the president’s power of the economy and federal spending.

The Supreme Court has already said it will hear on an expedited basis a case over the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Arguments will be held at the beginning of November and a decision is likely to come before the end of the term next summer.

The high court is also grappling with an emergency appeal by the Trump administration, which is asking the justices to allow it to freeze billions of dollars in foreign aid budgeted by Congress. The case is a significant test of Trump’s bid to exert more control over government spending. A ruling could come at any time.

A divided federal appeals court on Monday night found Cook can keep her job, ruling against the Trump administration and its last-minute push to remove her ahead of the central bank’s key meeting this week on setting interest rates.