The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Wednesday morning in a case over whether President Donald Trump has the power to fire Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook for uncharged allegations that she committed mortgage fraud.
At stake is not only the fate of Cook — who denies any wrongdoing — but potentially the Fed’s future independence to set monetary policy without the risk of a president being able to easily remove a governor who fails to do their bidding on that issue.
Underscoring those stakes is the recent disclosure by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell that he is the subject of a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., in connection with his oversight of a multi-billion-dollar renovation of the central bank’s headquarters there.
Powell, who plans to attend Wednesday’s arguments at the Supreme Court, has said the real reason for that probe is the Fed holding interest rates steady for much of last year to Trump’s ire.
Cook was one of the Fed governors who backed Powell in maintaining those rates.
