Last month, President Donald Trump fired Lisa Cook, a person on the seven-member Federal Reserve board of governors, and she immediately litigated the matter, refusing to step down from her post.

An appeals court sided with her and ruled that the Trump administration can not fire her. However, according to the Associated Press, the Trump administration is now reaching out to the U.S. Supreme Court for the authority to make the call. 

While the Trump administration believes it has the authority to remove Cook from her position, no president has ever fired a Federal Reserve governor in the group's 112-year history.

Cook was appointed to the board by former President Joe Biden, and upon being fired by Trump, refused to leave her post, saying she wouldn't be "bullied" by the president.

What's going on?

Cook was fired by the Trump administration after she was accused of mortgage fraud, setting up an opportunity for Trump to place a more administration-friendly person on the board.

The AP noted:

Trump sought to fire Cook on Aug. 25, but a federal judge ruled last week that the removal probably was illegal and reinstated her to the Fed’s board. Trump has accused Cook of mortgage fraud because she appeared to claim two properties, in Michigan and Georgia, as “primary residences” in June and July 2021, before she joined the board.

Such claims can help one achieve better loan terms and mortgage rates.

Not surprisingly, Cook has denied any wrongdoing, and vows to fight to keep her position on the board.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in a letter to the high court that Cook, due to her allegedly fraudulent mortgage activities, shouldn't be allowed to dictate federal interest rates for the American people.

“Put simply, the President may reasonably determine that interest rates paid by the American people should not be set by a Governor who appears to have lied about facts material to the interest rates she secured for herself — and refuses to explain the apparent misrepresentations,” he wrote.

Trust issues

The Trump administration is arguing that even if the alleged mortgage fraud took place before she was on the board, it's still not acceptable for someone with integrity and moral issues to set interest rates for the American people.

The AP noted:

Trump’s lawyers have argued that even if the conduct occurred before her time as governor, her alleged action “indisputably calls into question Cook’s trustworthiness and whether she can be a responsible steward of the interest rates and economy.”

It looks as though Trump has a solid chance at the Supreme Court siding with him on this matter, as the high court has sided with him in other matters of firing top officials.

Only time will tell if he gets what he needs once more.