Trump administration wants to remove Lisa Cook from Fed board

President Donald Trump's administration has asked the US Supreme Court to allow Lisa Cook to be removed from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Such a move would be unprecedented since the central bank was founded in 1913.

Trump accuses Cook of committing mortgage fraud before taking office – an allegation she rejects. A court ruled in September that the president's allegations were unlikely to constitute sufficient grounds for her dismissal and blocked the move for the time being.

An appeals court this week rejected the White House's request to suspend the decision. Cook, the first Black woman on the Fed's board, then sued the president for unlawful interference, calling his actions a pretext to dismiss her because of her stance on monetary policy.

The Justice Department argued in court that the president has unlimited authority to decide on dismissals. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly criticized the Fed's cautious course and called for significantly faster and stronger interest rate cuts.

(Reuters, est)