On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the administration had not satisfied a requirement that Fed governors can only be fired “for cause,” which she said was limited to misconduct while in office. Cook did not join the Fed’s board until 2022.
In their emergency appeal, Trump’s lawyers argued that even if the conduct occurred before her time as governor, her alleged actions “indisputably calls into question Cook’s trustworthiness and whether she can be a responsible steward of the interest rates and economy.”
They asked an appeals court to issue an emergency decision reversing the lower court by Monday. The Fed begins its next meeting Tuesday, and will announce a decision on interest rates on Wednesday. The central bank is almost certain to reduce its benchmark rate at that meeting by a quarter-point, to about 4.1%.