by Ben Whedon
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook will keep her position while the Supreme Court considers arguments over the president’s authority to fire her amid allegations of mortgage fraud.
The court agreed to hear the issue on an expedited basis, Politico reported.
Trump moved to fire Cook earlier this year after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte referred Cook to the Department of Justice over alleged mortgage fraud.
After Trump attempted to fire her, Cook said she would not resign, according to PBS.
“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” Cook said.
Regarding mortgage fraud allegations, Cook stated in a court briefing that they were “flimsy, unproven allegations of pre-office wrongdoing—allegations conveniently timed following the President’s criticism of the Board’s policy decisions.”
Trump previously suggested he might fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over his unwillingness to lower interest rates, though he has thus far declined to do so. Powell announced a rate cut at the last Fed meeting, moreover.
The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates 0.25 percentage points to make it between 4 percent and 4.25 percent.
“The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated. The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that downside risks to employment have risen,” the Federal Reserve Board said.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
