US Supreme Court blocks Donald Trump from sacking Fed governor Lisa Cook

{"text":[[{"start":11.35,"text":"The US Supreme Court blocked Donald Trump from firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, even as the court ruled the president could remove top officials at federal agencies."}],[{"start":22.35,"text":"The pair of decisions released on Monday affirms the independence of the Federal Reserve, while giving the White House much greater power over independent federal agencies whose responsibilities range from competition regulation to economic statistics."}],[{"start":38.5,"text":"Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the 5-4 majority decision on Monday that Congress limited the president’s power to remove Fed governors for “good reason”."}],[{"start":48.3,"text":"Allowing Trump to remove Cook would open the door for “the President to remove a member of the Federal Reserve at any time, for any reason, without any notice before and without any judicial check after”, the chief justice wrote."}],[{"start":59.8,"text":"Monday’s opinion knocks back the first attempt by a US president to remove a Fed governor — a move that critics had warned would have eroded the central bank’s freedom to set interest rates without political pressure."}],[{"start":72.64999999999999,"text":"Trump has launched a series of attacks on the Fed’s independence, repeatedly calling on the US central bank to slash rates to boost growth since returning to office in January 2025. His campaign has alarmed many investors given the central bank’s key position in global markets."}],[{"start":89.39999999999999,"text":"On Monday, Trump said the court had ruled against him “on a strictly procedural basis” and said he would still push to ensure “that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions”."}],[{"start":102.39999999999999,"text":"The US president last August attempted to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud after his close ally Bill Pulte presented documents that appeared to show the Fed governor had claimed primary residence status on two properties."}],[{"start":116.05,"text":"The Supreme Court’s ruling upholds a lower-court ruling that lets Cook stay in her job while the case is resolved. The majority determined that the Trump administration is not likely to succeed on its legal arguments in the case. Cook denies the allegations and has not been charged."}],[{"start":131.75,"text":"Monday’s second ruling, meanwhile, cleared the way for Trump to fire a Federal Trade Commission member without cause, a move that will hand the White House power to exert greater control over independent agencies. "}],[{"start":143.75,"text":"The justices ruled 6-3 that Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic commissioner who was dismissed last year, may be removed by the president. Lower courts had sided with Slaughter, reinstating her to her post at the competition and consumer protection agency. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":160.2,"text":"The high court’s ruling allows Trump to permanently fire her. The decision overturns a 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent empowering Congress to shield commissioners at the FTC and other agencies from firings at the whim of the White House."}],[{"start":176.35,"text":"“Subordinates who exercise the President’s power are subject to removal by him,” Roberts wrote. “Then, and only then, can they remain accountable to the President, and the President to the people.”"}],[{"start":187.7,"text":"Trump has sought to fire officials across the federal bureaucracy. The ruling will give him greater influence over critical agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission."}],[{"start":197.25,"text":"Trump celebrated the decision as a “BIG WIN”, saying it would “greatly [increase] Presidential Power at a time when it is most needed!”"}],[{"start":206.1,"text":"The ruling is expected to imperil multiple lawsuits filed by dozens of officials Trump fired despite for-cause removal protections afforded to them by federal law."}],[{"start":215.9,"text":"Lev Menand, a professor at Columbia Law School, said the decision to rule in favour of Cook, but at the same time against Slaughter, could ultimately threaten the Fed’s independence in the years to come. "}],[{"start":230.25,"text":"“The Federal Reserve’s independence from White House control was supported by a set of norms and values and respect for the legitimacy of such arrangements. Now the court is calling into question the legitimacy of those arrangements,” Menand said. "}],[{"start":244.2,"text":"“How can the Federal Reserve justify its distinctive independence, now that the court has said independence as a general matter is illegitimate and unconstitutional? It’s going to be hard.”"}],[{"start":255.35,"text":"Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a dissent joined by the court’s two other liberal justices that the majority had handed Trump “a power unknown even to the English Crown against which the Founders revolted”."}],[{"start":267.9,"text":"But the Fed remains insulated from those effects, for now. The high court ruled that Trump failed to give Cook the ability to properly dispute her firing, affirming the legal protections enjoyed by Fed governors."}],[{"start":280.25,"text":"On Monday, Cook said Trump’s attempts to remove her were “never about mortgage documents”."}],[{"start":287,"text":"“It was an attempt to remove me on a manufactured pretext because I refused to bow to political pressure and continued to set interest rates based only on what would best serve the American people,” Cook said in the statement."}],[{"start":300,"text":"Pulte, who Trump appointed to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency and as acting director of national intelligence, on Monday said he still believes Cook “will be indicted for mortgage fraud”."}],[{"start":312.15,"text":"It has been nearly a year since Pulte referred Cook to the US Department of Justice for criminal investigation. "}],[{"start":319,"text":"The Supreme Court’s ruling on Cook comes after the US Justice Department in April dropped a criminal probe into former Fed chief Jay Powell, which was seen by many investors and economists as an attempt by Trump’s government to force the central bank to reduce borrowing costs."}],[{"start":336.9,"text":"The DoJ relented after a Republican lawmaker threatened to hold up Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Fed chair unless prosecutors dropped the probe of Powell."}],[{"start":353.74999999999994,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782786428_4293.mp3"}