LEILA FADEL, HOST:
As soon as today, an attorney for Lisa Cook plans to file a lawsuit challenging Trump's, quote, "illegal action."
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Lisa Cook is on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, an independent agency that Trump wants to control. He claims to have fired her for cause. She says no cause exists under the law and he has no authority to fire her. A Trump appointee accused Cook of giving a false answer on a mortgage application, and Trump expressed concern about that during a Cabinet meeting.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No, she seems to have had an infraction. And she can't have an infraction.
FADEL: It's the latest example of the president using the levers of government to pressure or punish those who disagree with him. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith joins us now with more. Good morning, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So what did you hear from the president?
KEITH: He dismissed the threat of a lawsuit and did say that he would honor court orders. But he said he is - already has somebody in mind to fill Cook's spot on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. And the context here is important. The Fed is supposed to maintain independence, but Trump is months into an intense pressure campaign to get the Fed to lower interest rates. He has been badgering Fed Chair Jerome Powell as, too late. He actually went to the headquarters a few weeks ago and accused Powell of mismanaging a major renovation project. And now there's this effort to fire Cook, which Trump said outright would get him closer to his goal.
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TRUMP: We'll have a majority very shortly, so that'll be great. Once we have a majority, housing is going to swing, and it's going to be great. People are paying too high an interest rate. That's the only problem with housing. We have to get the rates down a little bit.
FADEL: OK, so being very clear that he wants people who agree with him in control of the board. Is there an outbreak of mortgage fraud, or is something else going on here?
KEITH: Well, there's certainly an outbreak of allegations of mortgage fraud. After referrals from a Trump ally, the Justice Department is publicly investigating California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James for claiming more than one property as their primary residence. In normal times, we wouldn't know about an investigation until there were charges filed. In this case, you had a Justice Department official posing for photos in front of James' Brooklyn home. Schiff led Trump's first-term impeachments. James prosecuted Trump while he was out of office, and his company was found liable for fraud.
But they are hardly the only people on the wrong side of Trump to get hit with what sure looks like retribution. Trump stripped security clearances. Prosecutors who led January 6 cases have been fired. Trump signed executive orders going after law firms that worked for Democrats. He has said broadcast licenses should be stripped from TV networks he disagrees with, and now the FCC is investigating them. And this is a very incomplete list.
FADEL: Incomplete - and that was a long list. Did anything...
KEITH: Yep.
FADEL: ...Else stand out to you about this very, very long Cabinet meeting?
KEITH: Well, it was very, very long. According to Factbase, which tracks these things, it was the longest Trump event ever - longer than any other Cabinet meeting. And it was effusive. Cabinet secretaries took turns showering Trump with praise - like the labor secretary, who said Trump should come over to the department to see the banner they now have hanging on the side of the building of his, quote, "big, beautiful face."
FADEL: NPR's Tamara Keith. Thank you, Tam.
KEITH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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