A federal judge has temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, allowing her to remain in the job for now.
The decision on Tuesday night is a blow to Mr Trump, who moved to sack Ms Cook on August 25 following allegations that she had committed mortgage fraud. She has yet to be charged with a crime and the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation last week.
“The public interest in Federal Reserve independence weighs in favour of Cook’s reinstatement,” Judge Jia Cobb wrote in her ruling on Tuesday. The US Supreme Court is expected to have the final say.
Federal Reserve officials can only be fired "for cause”, which is most consider to be malfeasance or neglect of duty. No Fed official has been fired before Ms Cook.
“The best reading of the ‘for cause’ provision is that the bases for removal of a member of the board of governors are limited to grounds concerning a governor’s behaviour in office and whether they have been faithfully and effectively executing their statutory duties,” Ms Cobb wrote.
Abbe Lowell, Ms Cook's lawyer, said the court's ruling upholds the Federal Reserve's independence from political interference.
“Allowing the president to unlawfully remove Ms Cook on unsubstantiated and vague allegations would endanger the stability of our financial system and undermine the rule of law,” Mr Lowell said in a statement. “She will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed board governor.”
Ms Cook maintains she has never committed mortgage fraud. She filed a lawsuit against Mr Trump last week after he moved to fire her, arguing that he has no authority to do so.
The Federal Reserve decline to comment and has previously said it would abide by the court's decision.
The White House holds that Ms Cook was fired for cause.
"This ruling will not be the last say on the matter, and the Trump administration will continue to work to restore accountability and confidence in the Fed,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
Mr Trump has embarked on an unprecedented attack campaign on the Federal Reserve since returning to the White House this year, growing increasingly angry at the US Central Bank for not cutting interest rates.
Those attacks have involved repeated condemnations of Fed chair Jereme Powell a visit of the Federal Reserve's headquarters in Washington, appointing his leading economic ally to fill a vacant seat on the Fed's board of governors, and culminating in his attempt to remove Ms Cook.
The Supreme Court signalled this year that the Trump administration's reasoning for firing officials at other agencies does not apply to the Fed, although the court allowed Mr Trump earlier on Tuesday to fire the head of Federal Trade Commission.
The Federal Reserve is a quasi-private agency, meaning it is a hybrid between the private and public sector.
The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee consists of seven members of the Fed board, including the Fed chairman, the New York Fed president, and four of the remaining 11 Fed districts who serve rotating one-year terms.
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Key facilities
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Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
