Key GOP senators largely shied away from criticizing President Donald Trump’s move to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook as they returned from their monthlong August recess on Tuesday, even as they stressed the importance of an independent central bank.
“I believe in Fed independence,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee. Pressed by reporters about Cook’s ouster, he said: “It’s in the courts. I don’t know who’s right or who’s wrong.”
Trump moved last week to fire Cook, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, citing allegations that she committed mortgage fraud. Cook has sued to block her ouster, saying the president does not have the authority to remove her from the Fed board.
“The courts will make that determination as to whether or not he has that authority,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “But I think the independence of the Federal Reserve is absolutely critical. It’s critical to the president’s long-term economic success because he needs that board to be seen as independent if we want to keep our U.S. Treasuries in demand around the world.”
The Cook showdown comes as the Senate is gearing up to quickly advance Trump’s nominee for a separate Fed board seat, Stephen Miran. He is set to appear before the Banking panel on Thursday, where he will likely face a barrage of questions over the independence of the central bank.
Miran, who currently chairs Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, is making the rounds on Capitol Hill ahead of his confirmation: Rounds said he expected to meet with Miran Tuesday evening and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said she is set to meet with him on Wednesday.
“I look forward to supporting him, but I want to make sure he understands how important [Fed independence] is to the long-term success of the president’s economic plans, and to the long-term stability of the dollar,” Rounds said.
Democrats are calling for the Miran nomination hearing to be postponed amid the dispute over Cook’s ouster.
“I don’t know how you move forward when I think the president is trying to illegally fire a Fed member,” said Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat on the Banking panel. “I didn’t think I could get astonished and disappointed any more [in] my Republican colleagues who say they want to honor the Fed’s independence — or, for that matter, the business community, who seems like they bend the knee on every issue.”
Some Republicans are more explicitly backing Trump’s move.
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) called the allegations against Cook “egregious.”
Asked about concerns over Fed independence, said Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.): “If they operate independently outside of the law, then that independence is not earned.
“There’s a legitimate issue here,” she said.
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