Fed governor Lisa Cook sues Trump over his ‘illegal attempt’ to fire her
The Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump over his “unprecedented and illegal attempt” to fire her, calling it an attempt to undermine the central bank’s independence.The lawsuit – filed by Cook in federal court in Washington on Thursday – sets the stage for a legal battle over the US president’s extraordinary push for greater control of the central bank.A federal judge scheduled a hearing for the case on Friday at 10 am ET, with the case likely to end up at the supreme court.Trump tried to dismiss Cook on Monday, announcing that he was removing her from her position on the Fed’s board of governors “effective immediately” over an unconfirmed allegation from one of his allies that she had obtained a mortgage on a second home she incorrectly described as her primary residence.But Cook stood her ground, arguing that Trump had “no authority” to fire her.
“I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy,” she said.Cook is a member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, who serve in the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which votes to set interest rates.Cook was appointed to her role in 2022 by Joe Biden.The lawsuit, filed on her behalf in Washington DC federal court, asks judges to void Cook’s firing, arguing it was not in Trump’s power to fire her and that it would be “the first of its kind in the board’s history”.An unintentional “clerical error” might lie behind the allegations leveled by the administration, Cook’s lawyers suggest in the filing.
The complaint cites the Federal Reserve Act (FRA), noting the 1913 law that created the Fed “explicitly requires a showing of ‘cause’ for a governor’s removal”.“An unsubstantiated allegation about private mortgage applications submitted by Governor Cook prior to her Senate confirmation is not [cause],” court filings said.“President Trump’s letter purporting to fire Governor Cook did not cite appropriate cause for removing her from the board of governors.”Cook’s lawyers also said her removal violated her fifth amendment due process rights to a notice and hearing under the FRA.Instead of receiving official notice, Cook “found out about the attempt to remove her through President Trump’s Truth Social post”.
In a statement, a White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, argued that Trump’s removal of Cook was legal under US law and that the president “determined there was cause to remove a governor who was credibly accused of lying in financial documents from a highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions”,“The removal of a governor for cause improves the Federal Reserve board’s accountability and credibility for both the markets and American people,” Desai said,The lawsuit includes a section detailing the legal and historical background of the Fed’s independence as the central bank, arguing that the “for cause” removal protections have been a “bulwark of the Federal Reserve’s independence for the past century”,The mortgage allegations are “pretextual”, the lawsuit claims, and part of a broader attempt by Trump to obtain a vacant board seat “to fill and forward his agenda to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve’”,Sign up to This Week in TrumplandA deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administrationafter newsletter promotion“Allowing the president to remove members of the board over policy disagreements would also render illusory the board’s independence,” the lawsuit said.
“In the few days following President Trump’s unprecedented action, media, economists and academics from across the political spectrum have sounded the alarm that his actions threaten the historic independence of the Federal Reserve,”A representative for Cook’s lawyers declined to comment on the lawsuit,For months, Trump has publicly urged the Fed to cut interest rates, attacking the central bank – and its chair, Jerome Powell – over its refusal to do so,Policymakers have stressed the need to wait and see the impact of the administration’s policies, such as tariffs and deportations, before approving a cut,Cook’s exit would allow Trump to tap a replacement, helping him exert more control over Fed policy.
He suggested on Tuesday that he would “have a majority” on the Fed’s seven-member board of governors “very shortly”, adding: “We have to get the rates down a little bit.”The Trump administration has pursued several of the president’s political enemies, including the New York attorney general, Letitia James, and the California senator Adam Schiff, over claims of mortgage fraud.Both James and Schiff have denied the allegations.Cook is not a politician, but is among a string of senior Fed policymakers who have defied Trump’s persistent calls for rate cuts.She became the first Black woman to sit on the central bank’s board when she was appointed to a term that was not due to end until 2038.
A respected economist, with stints at Harvard University and Stanford University, Cook served on the council of economic advisers under Barack Obama,
USA 31-31 Australia: 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup – as it happened
I’m not exaggerating when I say that was one of the best games of rugby I’ve ever watched.There’s a tendency to over hype the women’s game. To compensate for the unjust inequities, the blatant sexism and the years of neglect. There’s also an understandable need to focus less on results and the quality of rugby and shine a light on the stories of the individuals involved, to champion those heroes who have sacrificed so much to represent their nations.No need on this one
Australia and USA draw thriller to bring belated jeopardy to Rugby World Cup
Here was the captivating arm-wrestle we had been waiting for. Second place in Pool A behind England was probably on the line, and both teams gave everything in an utterly compelling match with a barely believable script.Neither deserved to lose, and if England comfortably defeat the Wallaroos next week, it should come down to points difference between these two sides for a place in the last eight. After Eva Karpani’s concluding try for Australia, Samantha Wood’s simple conversion chance could have won it five minutes from time, but she pulled it, in doing so arguably guaranteeing the right result.The precocious wing Desiree Miller and the 18-year-old full-back Caitlyn Halse both scored twice for the Wallaroos, while Freda Tafuna was credited with a hat-trick, although the No 6 said the third was scored by Hope Rogers
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You can keep the 92 points England scored. Let’s talk about Samoa’s three. It’s been 11 years since Samoa recorded a point in a World Cup match. They didn’t qualify for the tournaments in 2017 or 2021, and they were whitewashed 73-0 by Australia in the first round of this one on the opening weekend. So Franklin’s Gardens fell awfully quiet when the team won a scrum penalty just inside England’s half in the 42nd minute, 32m out, and straight in front of the posts
John Mitchell demands England improve despite record World Cup win over Samoa
England’s victory over Samoa was a record Rugby World Cup win for the Red Roses but the head coach, John Mitchell, said “their basics let them down” during a period in the second half where they took their foot off the gas. The Red Roses raced to a 47-0 half-time lead but fumbled lineouts and had knock-ons which thwarted their momentum during the second half. Mitchell praised his team but said it was a task to keep up the pressure.Sign up to The BreakdownThe latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewedafter newsletter promotionMitchell said: “Firstly, I thought the start was an energetic, very clinical start. I think as the game wore on and the scoreboard was building, it was always going to be this group’s challenge to stay in the process and build pressure
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Caitlin Cassidy competes in Australia’s World Cup spogomi qualifier, a fun event that’s really about raising environmental awareness, in ManlyIt’s Saturday morning at Manly beach and you could cut the tension with a knife.Nearly 100 people are crouched over piles of litter, frantically sorting them into coloured tote bags. A man wearing an umpire bib looms over a group beside us and blows his whistle.“Two minutes!” he calls. “Two minutes!” The team is trying to figure out if a discarded tennis racket counts as “non-burnable waste” or “bulky waste”
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