White House to Appeal Court Ruling Allowing Cook to Remain
FOMC September Meeting Opens Amid Dispute Over Cook's Dismissal
"Trump's Economic Advisor" Myron Attends for the First Time
The White House announced on September 16 (local time) that it will appeal the court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to dismiss Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Kushi Desai stated, "The President lawfully dismissed Lisa Cook for just cause," adding, "The administration will appeal this decision and expects to ultimately 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 alleged mortgage fraud. This follows a ruling on September 9 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 inadequate. The appellate court has thus also sided with Cook. In response, the White House indicated its intention to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
As a result, Lisa Cook will participate in the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regular meeting, which is being held over two days starting today. In addition, Steven Myron, Chairman of the White House National Economic Council and President Trump's chief economic adviser, who was recently nominated 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. With President Trump pressuring the Fed to lower interest rates, attention is focused on how committee members will discuss the future path of rates. The market expects the Fed to lower the benchmark interest rate, currently at 4.25-4.5% per annum, by 0.25 percentage points at this meeting.
Meanwhile, the Fed announced that Steven Myron "has taken the oath of office as a member of the Board of Governors." The Fed also added Myron to its official website as one of the 12 voting members of the FOMC. Myron's confirmation passed the U.S. Senate the previous day with 48 votes in favor and 47 against. His term as a Board member will last until January 31 of next year, completing the remainder of former member Kugler's term.
Myron has previously stated that he intends to retain his White House position even while serving as a Fed Board member. However, he has indicated that if he is reappointed to the Fed Board, he will then step down from his White House role.
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