Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her position while she fights President Donald Trump’s efforts to fire her.
The ruling Tuesday by a federal judge, which almost certainly will be appealed, is a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to assert more control over the U.S. central bank, which is traditionally independent from day-to-day politics so that it can better achieve its congressionally mandated goals of stable prices and maximum employment.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that Cook’s challenge of her firing would likely prevail.
A Trump appointee accused Cook of mortgage fraud, saying she simultaneously claimed two properties she bought before joining the Fed were her “primary residences,” which could have resulted in lower down payments and mortgage rates. The judge said such allegations didn’t legally justify her firing, since by law, Fed governors can only be removed “for cause,” which Cobb said was limited to actions taken during a governor’s time in office.
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The Supreme Court to consider Trump’s tariffs power
The justices will hear the case in November, a lightning-fast timetable by the court’s typical pace. The tariffs will stay in place in the meantime.
The court agreed to take up an appeal from the Trump administration after lower courts found most of his tariffs illegal. The small businesses and states that challenged the tariffs on goods from almost every country in the world say they have driven businesses nearly to bankruptcy.
Trump weighs in on Israeli strike in Qatar
Trying to walk a delicate line following Israel’s attack on Hamas officials in Doha, he said he was “not thrilled” about the strike while stopping short of condemning Israel for carrying out an audacious military operation on the soil of another major U.S. ally.
Qatar has played a key role mediating between the U.S. and Iran and its proxies, including during talks with Tehran-backed Hamas as the war with Israel in Gaza grinds on.
Read more about Trump, Qatar and Israel
Trump asserts that his Epstein connections are a ’dead issue’
After House Democrats released a picture of a birthday message, which features the drawing of a curvaceous woman, purportedly signed by Trump for Jeffrey Epstein, Republicans rushed to support the president’s assertions that he had nothing to do with the letter.
Trump on Tuesday said he wouldn’t “comment on something that’s a dead issue.” Trump sued the Wall Street Journal and its owner over a report that described such a page in detail.
US Secretary of State to meet with his South Korean counterpart following raid
The meeting between Marco Rubio and South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is set for the White House Wednesday morning.
A total of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Koreans, were rounded up in the Sept. 4 raid at the battery factory under construction at Hyundai’s sprawling auto plant west of Savannah. Some were shown being shackled with chains around their hands, ankles and waists in video released by U.S. authorities.
Hyun traveled to Washington tasked with bringing them home. South Korean media reported that a charter plane left for the U.S. to bring them back.
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