At its surface, the case that is set to reach the Supreme Court on Wednesday concerns President Trump’s power to fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board.
But all along, Mr. Trump has made clear the stakes he sees in the legal fight: He covets the chance to stock the nation’s central bank with political loyalists.
Throughout his second term, the president has openly chased a majority on the Fed, a set of allies who can deliver on his desire for sharp, swift cuts in interest rates. Even though the central bank is supposed to be independent, Mr. Trump has made clear he expects his appointees to share his views and lower borrowing costs dramatically, perhaps to 1 percent.
In court, the Trump administration has strenuously steered clear of this rhetoric. Lawyers have argued that Mr. Trump possesses the power and rationale to dismiss Ms. Cook, a governor, over allegations that she engaged in mortgage fraud before joining the Fed. Lawyers for Ms. Cook have disputed the charges and have described her attempted firing as rooted in political pretense.
Outside of court, though, the president has struck a far different tone. Even when not commenting on Ms. Cook, he has boasted about the changes he hopes to bring to the Fed.
“We’ll have a majority very shortly,” Mr. Trump said at one point during a cabinet meeting in August. “So that’ll be great.”
Already, three of the members of the seven-person Fed board are Mr. Trump’s appointees: Michelle W. Bowman and Christopher J. Waller were confirmed by the Senate in his first term, and Stephen Miran, one of the president’s economic advisers, joined last year.
Ms. Bowman and Mr. Waller have not cowed to the president’s demands and have called for far more gradual rate cuts than Mr. Trump has endorsed. Mr. Miran, who was chosen to fill a short vacancy, has been more aggressive. He has said he could return to the White House once his time on the board is complete.
Mr. Trump may stand to gain another appointee this year if Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Fed, leaves after his term expires in May. Mr. Powell could opt to stay as a governor through 2028, though Mr. Trump would still have the opportunity to designate a new chair. An announcement is possible next week, according to the president’s aides.
In the meantime, the president has sought to maximize the pressure on Mr. Powell, who is now under investigation by the Justice Department, a probe that the Fed chair has described as political retribution. And Mr. Trump has frequently stressed on social media that he expects his nominee to echo his views on monetary policy.
“Anybody that disagrees with me will never be the Fed Chairman!” he said at one point last month.
Speaking on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, though, Mr. Trump appeared to lament the fact he may not be able to exert control over the Fed chair once in office. He nominated Mr. Powell to his current post, after all, in 2017.
“The problem is, they change once they get the job,” Mr. Trump said.
Along with firing Ms. Cook and removing Mr. Powell, the president has even suggested he could try to investigate the legitimacy of other board members appointed by his predecessor, Joseph R. Biden Jr. At a rally in December, he openly tasked his administration with investigating whether those Fed officials could or should be removed.
Musing aloud that a “couple of them” might not have been legally authorized to join the Fed, the president seemed to delight at the vacancies that could be gained from their dismissals.
“We’ll take two,” Mr. Trump said.
Tony Romm is a reporter covering economic policy and the Trump administration for The Times, based in Washington.
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