Daniel Hampton
September 9, 2025
RAW STORY
FILE PHOTO: Lisa Cook testifies before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on her nomination to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (for a second term), on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
President Donald Trump's unprecedented firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook just hit a snag, as a judge temporarily blocked her ouster.
Last month, Trump tried to fire Cook, citing allegations of mortgage fraud as the reason for her dismissal. Cook and her attorney immediately contested the legality of the move, insisting Trump didn't have the power to oust a Fed governor except “for cause.”
On Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb dealt Trump a temporary blow in the case, finding that the Federal Reserve Act only allows a president to remove a Fed governor "for cause." Cobb noted this was the first such attempt to do so in the Fed's 111-year history.
The court ruled that Cook made a "strong showing" that her removal was done in "violation" of the "for cause" provision.
"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 behavior in office and whether they have been faithfully and effectively executing their statutory duties," wrote Cobb. "'For cause' thus does not contemplate removing an individual purely for conduct that occurred before they began in office."
Cobb said the removal likely violated Cook's rights to due process as well, and said she demonstrated "irreparable harm."
"Finally, the public interest and the balance of the equities also favor Cook," the judge concluded.
Judges split in key lawsuit challenging Trump's mass federal layoffs
Matthew Chapman
September 9, 2025
Matthew Chapman
September 9, 2025
RAW STORY
A federal appeals court issued a divided decision on Tuesday, instructing a lower-court judge in Maryland to throw out a lawsuit brought by Democratic state attorneys general against the Trump administration for mass layoffs of federal employees.
According to The Washington Post, the three judge panel for the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit "had been asked by the federal government to weigh the appropriateness of a preliminary injunction issued in April by U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar that instructed the Trump administration to rehire the fired probationary workers and proceed with their terminations only if they are done legally — including abiding by a federal procedure that requires states affected by mass layoffs to receive a 60-day warning, which the Trump administration did not initially give."
In the 2-1 ruling decided by a Reagan-appointed and Trump-appointed judge, respectively, the court found the attorneys general lack the standing to bring the lawsuit.
“We acknowledge that the abrupt and indiscriminate dismissal of the probationary employees here exacted all-too-human costs upon those affected,” wrote Judge Harvie Wilkinson. “But this real impact on the employees, who are not parties here, cannot govern our review.”
The ruling instructs Bredar to dismiss the case outright, unless the states appeal the case further. Per the report, "It’s unclear what impact the ruling would have on the administration’s efforts to fully carry out its plan to downsize the federal government by eliminating thousands of jobs."
This is not the only case challenging Trump's ability to ignore the 60-day notice requirement for mass layoffs; another lawsuit over this is still being litigated in California.
A federal appeals court issued a divided decision on Tuesday, instructing a lower-court judge in Maryland to throw out a lawsuit brought by Democratic state attorneys general against the Trump administration for mass layoffs of federal employees.
According to The Washington Post, the three judge panel for the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit "had been asked by the federal government to weigh the appropriateness of a preliminary injunction issued in April by U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar that instructed the Trump administration to rehire the fired probationary workers and proceed with their terminations only if they are done legally — including abiding by a federal procedure that requires states affected by mass layoffs to receive a 60-day warning, which the Trump administration did not initially give."
In the 2-1 ruling decided by a Reagan-appointed and Trump-appointed judge, respectively, the court found the attorneys general lack the standing to bring the lawsuit.
“We acknowledge that the abrupt and indiscriminate dismissal of the probationary employees here exacted all-too-human costs upon those affected,” wrote Judge Harvie Wilkinson. “But this real impact on the employees, who are not parties here, cannot govern our review.”
The ruling instructs Bredar to dismiss the case outright, unless the states appeal the case further. Per the report, "It’s unclear what impact the ruling would have on the administration’s efforts to fully carry out its plan to downsize the federal government by eliminating thousands of jobs."
This is not the only case challenging Trump's ability to ignore the 60-day notice requirement for mass layoffs; another lawsuit over this is still being litigated in California.
Chief Justice John Roberts unilaterally halts aid in Trump’s emergency Supreme Court fight
Sarah K. Burris
September 9, 2025
Sarah K. Burris
September 9, 2025
RAW STORY
FILE PHOTO: WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: (L-R) U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor bow their heads during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Billions in foreign aid will be frozen again after Chief Justice John Roberts intervened to stop a lower-court decision to continue the funding until the case is fully adjudicated.
President Donald Trump begged the court in an emergency to stop a ruling from last week by Judge Amir Ali, who said only Congress could decide whether to withhold funding that had already been allocated to them, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
“This case raises questions of immense legal and practical importance, including whether there is any avenue to test the executive branch’s decision not to spend congressionally appropriated funds,” Ali wrote.
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out Ali's injunction, but it didn't weigh in on the lawsuit as a whole.
The nearly $5 billion in aid goes to help stop famine, the spread of HIV-AIDS, refugees, health and education for women and girls, and efforts to combat illicit drugs, the Better World Campaign described on its website.
FILE PHOTO: WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: (L-R) U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor bow their heads during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Billions in foreign aid will be frozen again after Chief Justice John Roberts intervened to stop a lower-court decision to continue the funding until the case is fully adjudicated.
President Donald Trump begged the court in an emergency to stop a ruling from last week by Judge Amir Ali, who said only Congress could decide whether to withhold funding that had already been allocated to them, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
“This case raises questions of immense legal and practical importance, including whether there is any avenue to test the executive branch’s decision not to spend congressionally appropriated funds,” Ali wrote.
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out Ali's injunction, but it didn't weigh in on the lawsuit as a whole.
The nearly $5 billion in aid goes to help stop famine, the spread of HIV-AIDS, refugees, health and education for women and girls, and efforts to combat illicit drugs, the Better World Campaign described on its website.
No comments:
Post a Comment