President Trump said on Friday that he would fire Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board, if she did not resign her post, as he looked to leverage new allegations around her past mortgage applications in a bid to remake the top ranks of the nation’s central bank.
Mr. Trump issued his latest threat, which would most likely face severe legal obstacles, two days after Bill Pulte, the federal housing director, accused Ms. Cook of falsifying records to obtain favorable loan terms. Mr. Pulte referred the matter to the Justice Department, a representative of which said the case “requires further examination.”
While the two men have criticized Ms. Cook for her actions, and Mr. Pulte has insisted his primary goal is to root out fraud, they have each done so in the context of an expanding campaign to oust officials on the Fed’s Board of Governors, including its chair, Jerome H. Powell.
By forcing out sitting governors, the president could appoint a set of loyalists who share his desire to lower interest rates, which the central bank has kept steady in response to persistent concerns about inflation. Mr. Trump has already announced one nominee for the board, tapping Stephen Miran, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, for the spot that Adriana Kugler abruptly vacated this month. Ms. Kugler’s term was initially set to end in January, and Mr. Miran, a critic of the Fed, will need to be confirmed by the Senate.
Many legal experts believe that Mr. Trump cannot easily fire any Fed board member, including Ms. Cook, who has not been convicted of wrongdoing. The law that charters the Fed allows the president to dismiss policymakers for cause, which is generally interpreted to mean gross professional negligence or malfeasance. It is a broad term that has little legal precedent, suggesting that it could be difficult to prove. The Supreme Court signaled this year that it viewed the Fed differently than other independent agencies whose officials the president has removed.
“I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign,” Mr. Trump told reporters in Washington when asked about Ms. Cook’s fate.
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The post Trump Threatens to Fire Fed Governor, Escalating Pressure on Central Bank appeared first on New York Times.
