White House to Appeal Ruling Blocking Lisa Cook's Dismissal... Cook and Myron to Attend FOMC Together

White House to Appeal Court Ruling Allowing Cook to Remain
September FOMC Opens Amid Controversy Over Cook's Dismissal
"Trump's Economic Advisor" Miran Makes First Appearance

The White House announced on September 16 (local time) that it would appeal a court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to dismiss Lisa Cook, a member of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board.

Kushi Desai, White House deputy spokesperson, stated, "The President lawfully dismissed Lisa Cook for just cause," adding, "The administration will appeal this ruling and ultimately expects to prevail."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled the previous day that Lisa Cook could retain her position while litigation proceeds regarding President Trump's decision to dismiss her over allegations of mortgage fraud. This follows the September 9 decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which found that Cook had not been given sufficient opportunity to defend herself and that the grounds for her dismissal were insufficient. The appellate court has also sided with Cook. On this day, the White House indicated its intention to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

As a result, Lisa Cook will participate in the regular Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of the Federal Reserve, which will be held over two days starting today. In addition, Steven Myron, chairman of the White House National Economic Council and President Trump's chief economic advisor, who was recently appointed to succeed former Fed board member Adriana Kugler following her sudden resignation, was confirmed by the Senate the previous day and will also attend the meeting. As President Trump continues to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates, attention is focused on what discussions will take place among the committee members regarding the future path of interest rates. The market expects the Fed to cut the benchmark interest rate, currently at 4.25-4.5% per annum, by 0.25 percentage points at this meeting.