Trump "rushing": "firing" Cook before next week's Federal Reserve meeting

On the eve of the Federal Reserve's critical interest rate decision, the Trump administration is accelerating its legal efforts to remove Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook. According to court documents submitted on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice has requested a federal appeals court to intervene and suspend a lower court's previous injunction that temporarily blocked Trump's dismissal of Cook. In the documents, the Department of Justice stated that the temporary injunction issued by lower court judge Jia Cobb was "extraordinary" and that the ruling contained "a series of legal errors" that should be suspended during the appeal. The Justice Department argued that the injunction "conflicts with the President's exercise of his constitutional power under Article II." Article II of the U.S. Constitution grants executive power to the President. The Trump administration urged the appeals court in Washington to make a ruling before the end of business on September 15. This timeline is quite urgent, as the Federal Reserve's policy-making body—the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)—is set to begin a two-day meeting on interest rates the following day (September 16). The controversy began last month when President Trump took action to dismiss Lisa Cook. The public reason for this move was that Federal Housing Administrator Bill Pulte accused Cook of mortgage fraud. According to previous reports by the Financial Times, the Justice Department has launched an investigation into Cook, but the agency has not charged her with any wrongdoing. In response, Cook filed a lawsuit against Trump to prevent her dismissal. Her lawyers argued that the dismissal decision was based on "unverified allegations" and pointed out that it was merely an "excuse" to achieve Trump's goal of having a majority of board members he appointed on the Federal Reserve Board. The crux of the dispute lies in the boundaries of the President's power to dismiss Federal Reserve Board members. Later on Tuesday, the district judge responsible for the case, Jia Cobb, ruled that Cook could not be dismissed while the related lawsuit is pending. Judge Jia Cobb found that the attempt to remove Cook violated the Federal Reserve Act, which stipulates that the President can only dismiss Federal Reserve Board members "for cause." The Justice Department's latest motion is a direct challenge to this ruling and the principle of independence for Federal Reserve Board members that it represents. The subsequent developments of this event will have a direct impact on how investors and the market assess the independence of U.S. monetary policy