President Trump declared his intention to unseat Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and the White House displayed a large banner over the Labor Department reading "American Workers First!" The banner aimed to bolster Trump's image amid a weak jobs economy and to signal his campaign against the Fed for not lowering interest rates to his preference while tariffs drive inflation. The formal justification for Cook's removal rests on an allegation by Bill Pulte that Cook improperly claimed two properties as primary residences to obtain lower mortgage rates. Pulte's claim remains unproven, Cook plans to sue, and similar housing claims exist among other MAGA figures.
This latest foray into dictator branding was clearly meant to burnish Trump's image in a flailing jobs economy on the verge of the Labor Day holiday weekend. But it also doubled as advertising for Trump's ongoing putsch against the Fed, an institution he's roundly castigated for failing to reduce interest rates on his preferred schedule, as the administration's feckless tariffs program continues to stoke inflation. But a more truthful sentiment for the banner would have been "Sowing Administrative Chaos to Silence My Critics!"
Trump's action against Cook, like all his other second-term power grabs, rests on a flimsy pretext-the allegation from Bill Pulte, the MAGA lackey now captaining the federal Housing Finance Agency, that Cook obtained mortgages on two properties at lower rates by improperly claiming them as primary residences. Pulte's charge hasn't been proven, and Cook is preparing a suit contesting her dismissal.
Collection
[
|
...
]