Trump suffers legal setback in bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook
Donald Trump’s bid to fire a US central bank rate-setter has suffered a setback after a federal judge blocked the move.
The president revealed last month that he was removing Lisa Cook from her post at the Federal Reserve on alleged mortgage fraud grounds.
The move was widely seen by commentators as a bid to destroy the Fed’s independence through the appointment of a new governor who would support his bid for interest rate cuts to boost the trade war-hit US economy.
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Ms Cook, who denies wrongdoing and any cause to dismiss her, was appointed to the Fed’s board by former US president Joe Biden. The board forms part of the panel that votes on US interest rate decisions.
She secured a preliminary court ruling late on Tuesday which found that the Trump administration’s claims she committed mortgage fraud prior to taking office were likely not sufficient grounds for her removal.
The White House has claimed she inaccurately described three separate properties on mortgage applications, which could have allowed her to obtain lower interest rates and tax credits.
Lisa Cook is the first black woman to serve as a Fed governor. File pic: AP
But US District Judge Jia Cobb said: “President Trump has not identified anything related to Cook’s conduct or job performance as a Board member that would indicate that she is harming the Board or the public interest by executing her duties unfaithfully or ineffectively.”
The ruling, which could yet be appealed, means she can continue in her role while her own lawsuit proceeds.
It could end up in the Supreme Court.
Mr Trump’s demands this year that the Fed cuts rates have so far fallen on deaf ears as the central bank voting has shown too much concern over trade war-linked inflation. Prices have risen as higher import duties have been passed on.
He has repeatedly called for Fed chair Jay Powell to resign but retracted threats to fire him.
The president may actually get his wish for a cut this month amid a deterioration in the employment market – also widely blamed on his trade war – as hiring has slumped.
The central bank, unlike the Bank of England, has a dual mandate to ensure maximum employment as well as keeping inflation in check.
Any rate cut would be unlikely to extinguish the Trump administration’s effort to influence monetary policy.
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The Fed’s ability to set interest rates without regard to politicians’ demands is critical to market confidence, let alone the central bank’s ability to keep inflation under control.
Neither the Fed or the White House commented on the ruling.
Ms Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said: “This ruling recognises and reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the independence of the Federal Reserve from illegal political interference.”
Former US vice president Dick Cheney has died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family has said.
In a statement, his family said the 84-year-old was surrounded by his wife Lynne, daughters Liz and Mary, and other family members.
The Republican was one of the most polarising vice presidents in US history under George W Bush from 2001 to 2009, and was a leading advocate of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Dick Cheney with George W Bush. Pic: Reuters
In later life, he became a target of Donald Trump, especially after his daughter, Liz Cheney, became the leading Republican critic and examiner of Mr Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol.
“In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Mr Cheney said in a TV advert for his daughter.
“He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He is a coward.”
Dick Cheney looks on as his daughter Liz Cheney takes the oath of office in 2017. Pic: AP
Last year he said he was voting for Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, to be president against Mr Trump.
Mr Cheney survived five heart attacks and declared in 2013 he woke up each morning “with a smile on my face, thankful for the gift of another day”.
Pic: Reuters
His family’s statement said: “For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming’s Congressman, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States.
“Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing.
“We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country.
“And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”
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US
Zohran Mamdani: ‘Trump’s worst nightmare’ could be about to show how to take the fight to the president
Zohran Mamdani calls himself “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare”. They are the words of a man living the dream.
It’s because the 34-year-old is the headline act in Tuesday’s referendum on Trump 2.0. A statement night in US politics, as Americans – some, at least – deliver a verdict on what they’ve seen so far.
Of four electoral contests across the US – including in California, New Jersey and Virginia – the race to be New York mayor is the most compulsive and consequential.
The polls have Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, as the frontrunner. If he wins, it would signify big change in the Big Apple.
Read more: Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Pics: AP
Born in Uganda to Indian parents (he moved to the US aged seven), Mamdani would become New York’s first Muslim mayor.
He is a democratic socialist whose supporters will see victory as laying down a template for taking on Trump, even if the party’s old guard is sceptical.
An effective campaign has focused on the costs and quality of life in New York, promising universal childcare, a rent freeze, free bus travel and grocery shops run by the city.
Progressives Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez have endorsed Mamdani. Pic: Andrea Renault/STAR MAX/IPx/AP
So why is he controversial?
The message has resonated with New Yorkers squeezed on affordability, but his payment plan is open to question.
Mamdani plans to raise $9bn by raising taxes on the wealthy and on corporations, but he would face a struggle to gain the necessary consent of the New York State legislature and governor.
Mamdani’s politics are pegged to the “progressive” left wing of his party, and his campaign success plays into the Democrats’ quandary around a longer-term comeback strategy.
The politics that succeed in New York don’t necessarily resonate nationwide, and a party establishment has been reluctant to embrace Mamdani.
Democrat Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader, has declined to endorse him at all.
Party management aside, he won’t have been impressed when Mamdani was arrested outside Schumer’s Brooklyn home as part of a 2023 protest calling for a ceasefire following Hamas’ October 7th attack on Israel.
Mamdani has been a staunch critic of Israel and, in the past, has advocated defunding the police, decriminalising prostitution and closing New York City jails.
Mamdani was at the White House to announce a hunger strike demanding a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Gaza in November 2023. Pic: AP
His background and Islamic faith are threaded through opposition attacks. He has been criticised for refusing to denounce the phrase “globalise the intifada”, used by pro-Palestinian activists.
Subsequently, he said he would “discourage” the term and would combat antisemitism through actions as well as words.
It hasn’t stopped his Republican rival, Curtis Sliwa, claiming Mamdani supported “global jihad”.
Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, has labelled him “the most divisive candidate I have ever experienced in New York”.
Andrew Cuomo. Pic: AP
Trump gives Cuomo an endorsement – of sorts
Cuomo, the former New York governor who resigned over sexual harassment allegations, is Mamdani’s closest contender who has received support – of sorts – from Trump.
The president, who falsely labels Mamdani a communist, said on Truth Social on the eve of the election: “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice.
“You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”
At a rally the same night, Mamdani fired back to say: “The MAGA movement’s embrace of Andrew Cuomo is reflective of Donald Trump’s understanding that this would be the best mayor for him.
“Not the best mayor for New York City, not the best mayor for New Yorkers, but the best mayor for Donald Trump and his administration.”
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The Republican spin on the prospect of a Mamdani victory is that it would reflect a move towards radical extremism by the Democratic Party.
Trump has even suggested he may withhold federal funds from New York if Mamdani wins.
In time, Democrats would need to interpret and apply the lessons of a Mamdani victory. But more than anything else, they need a win to feel a pulse in a party undergoing an identity crisis.
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During the primaries, Mamdani held a news conference outside Cuomo’s apartment in March. Pic: zz/Andrea Renault/STAR MAX/IPx
One battle after another
The same applies to Tuesday contests for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, fascinating in terms of the vote winners and vote breakdown.
What will be the verdict, nine months in, of people who turned to Trump at the last election? Will he hold onto the Latino vote, given his immigration policy, ICE raids, and other orders?
In California, Tuesday sees a redistricting vote to counter Republican gerrymandering elsewhere. If backed by the public, the plan will increase the number of winnable Democratic seats in the House of Representatives.
Read more: The controversial tactic both parties are using ahead of midterms
It is the initiative of California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.
If he wins the day, his party will be enhanced and so will he, as the potential party nominee for president come the election in 2028.
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