'It’s dubious': Republican senators defy Trump in war on Fed official
An appointee of President Donald Trump helped give him ammo to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook based on possibly flimsy mortgage fraud accusations, and Republican senators are expressing reluctance to pursue her removal or appoint a replacement.
CNBC reported Wednesday that Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) made it clear they won't schedule a confirmation hearing any time soon, whether or not Trump names a replacement.
“She is still in the position. She has not had due process yet,” Rounds, who is on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee, said.
He wouldn't say whether he supported a replacement, explaining that it was all hypothetical.
“I don’t get to make the decision on what comes up before the committee, so at this point, it’s hypothetical,” he added. "She is still a member of the board, and you know the president most certainly has the right to try to influence and to lobby, but at this stage of the game, there’s no change in her status."
Tillis agreed, saying that he is “not going to consider anybody until that’s been adjudicated."
“I’m going to leave it to the courts to decide whether or not it’s legal,” Tillis said of the legal battle.
Cook has sued the Trump administration to block the firing. Trump's administration alleged she committed mortgage fraud because she claimed two properties, one in Michigan and one in Georgia, as her primary residence. Trump administration officials then alleged Cook told her lender a Cambridge, Massachusetts, condo was a second home, qualifying her for better mortgage terms, but later reported it to the government as a rental/investment property.
“But if in fact it is to be for cause, it’s dubious whether or not — even if these events are as they’ve been described — [they’re] a basis for cause. If it’s a move to really kind of create a partisan divide in the Fed, then I’m against it on that basis," Tillis said.
Cook's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said the information was already released to the Senate for Cook's confirmation in 2022, and they confirmed her. The matter isn't a secret, and she "did not ever commit mortgage fraud."
“I have no interest in moves that would make the Fed really come under direct control of the executive branch,” Tillis said in a separate interview with Politico.
“I just need to understand the strategy around what will be a relatively short stint,” Tillis said about Stephen Miran, who Trump wants for another Fed seat. “Do they have longer-term plans for him? Those sort of things.”