A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Biden Appointee Reinstated … For Now
In a late-night ruling, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb of Washington, D.C. blocked President Trump from firing Lisa Cook as a member of the Federal Reserve Board.
In the closely-watched case over whether Trump’s jihad against independent agencies will take down the Fed, too, Cobb ruled that his purported “for cause” firing of Cook was unlawful.
Trump used bogus mortgage fraud allegations from a toady of his as a pretext to fire Cook and undermine the Feds’ independence. While the statute gives the president the power to remove Federal Reserve Board members for cause, Cobb concluded that Trump likely violated the statute:
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. “For cause” thus does not contemplate removing an individual purely for conduct that occurred before they began in office.
Cobb also found that Cook was likely denied due process. Cook had argued she was entitled to notice and a hearing before she could be removed for cause.
Cobb ordered the Fed to reinstate Cook and prohibited it from treating her in any way as having been removed. The next Fed meeting is Sept. 16-17, which made a timely decision from Cobb urgent.
In granting Cook’s request for an order blocking her firing, Cobb issued a preliminary injunction that is immediately appealable. Expect the Trump administration to immediately appeal on an emergency basis and for this case to remain on a fast track until the Supreme Court weighs in.
Bill Pulte Makes Some GOP Enemies
It’s not just Treasury Secretary Scott ‘I’m Gonna Punch You in Your F—ing Face’ Bessent who is put out with Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency who has spearheaded the mortgage fraud witch hunts against Trump adversaries. Some GOP members of Congress are shitting all over him to Politico — though none would do so on the record.
Another Rough Day in Court for the Anti-Trump Forces
Despite the temporary win for Lisa Cook, it was a day of more setbacks for those trying to rein in the rogue president:
- Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative stay, pausing a lower court order that had required the Trump administration to begin the process of dispensing $4 billion in long-frozen foreign aid funds.
- The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit by 20 blue states seeking to challenge the firing of thousands of probationary federal employees, ruling that the states couldn’t sufficiently show they were harmed by the Trump administration’s actions.
READ: Trump Agreement With El Salvador for AEA Detainees
The agreement between the United States and El Salvador for it to accept the Alien Enemies Act detainees who ended up at CECOT was made public this week for the first time, in litigation over the controversial arrangement.
Among the terms of the agreement:
- The Trump administration gave El Salvador a grant of $4.76 million for “law enforcement and anticrime needs.”
- That money could be used to cover the “costs associated with detaining the 238 TdA members recently deported to El Salvador.”
The agreement was dated March 22, about a week after the administration rushed the Alien Enemies Act removals to avoid court scrutiny.
Quote of the Day
“I’m not entirely sure this is legal to be teaching, because according to our president there’s only two genders … and I don’t want to promote something that is against our president’s laws as well as against my religious beliefs.”–unidentified Texas A&M student, objecting to LGBTQ content in a university course in a viral video that led to the removals of a dean and department head and the firing of a professor
Michigan Fake Electors Case Dismissed
A state judge in Michigan ruled that the fake electors from the 2020 election were so completely bamboozled by Trump’s Big Lie that they lacked the requisite intent to sustain fraud charges and ordered the criminal case against them dismissed.
A First for NATO
Polish and Dutch fighters shot down Russian drones that had penetrated deep into Poland’s air space overnight. It was the first time that NATO fighters had engaged enemy targets in allied airspace.
Together at Last …
Former Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, 81, and his one-time secretary Fawn Hall, 65 — of Iran-contra fame in the 1980s — have married, Michael Isikoff reports.
They reportedly renewed their acquaintance in November at the funeral of North’s wife of 56 years.
North’s adult children were apparently unaware of their father’s Aug. 27 marriage to Hall.
“We were not at the wedding because we didn’t know it was happening,” his daughter Sarah Katz told the NYT on Tuesday night. “And mostly we hope it won’t impact our relationship with our dad because we do love him and we’re still in the process of mourning our mother.”
Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!
