Federal Reserve officials Janet Yellen, Paul Volcker (who died in 2019), Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke are shown together in 2013 at an event marking the central bank’s 100th anniversary.
Every living former head of the Federal Reserve joined with other big names on Thursday to file a brief with the Supreme Court that offers support to Fed governor Lisa Cook in her legal battle with President Donald Trump.
The amicus brief argues that Cook should be allowed to stay in her post while her lawsuit challenging Trump’s effort to fire her is handled by the court system.
A federal appeals court last week rejected Trump’s attempt to unseat Cook over an allegation of mortgage fraud, and the president has turned to the Supreme Court.
The brief comes from former Fed chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen, who also served as Treasury secretary. Others joining in the brief include former Treasury secretaries Timothy Geithner, Jack Lew, Henry Paulson, Robert Rubin and Larry Summers, as well as former Sen. Phil Gramm, a Texas Republican.
“The risk of harm to the Federal Reserve’s longstanding reputation for independence – and the ensuing harm to the economy – more than justifies maintaining the status quo by keeping Governor Cook in her position while the legality of her removal is adjudicated,” the brief says.
Cook’s attorneys also responded on Thursday to Trump’s Sept. 18 request to the Supreme Court for an emergency order to remove her.
“Granting that relief would dramatically alter the status quo, ignore centuries of history, and transform the Federal Reserve into a body subservient to the President’s will,” the Fed governor’s lawyers said in their filing.
