Playbook: “It’s a massive moment for the nation and the economy. Trump’s actions suggest he has his eye on a far more ambitious prize than just replacing Fed Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends next May. Instead, the president appears to want total control over the bank’s interest-rate setting structures. Firing Cook now would give Trump a majority of appointees on the Fed’s seven-person board, ahead of a key moment next year when the board reappoints the independently chosen regional chairs who make up the rest of the voting bloc.”

“The bottom line: Plenty of Fed watchers believe we’re seeing the greatest threat to its independence in generations.”

Associated Press: Why the Federal Reserve has historically been independent of the White House.

New York Times: Can Trump fire a Fed governor?

“President Donald Trump moved to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her post at the US central bank in the wake of allegations that she falsified documents on mortgage applications,” Bloomberg reports.

CNBC: “Trump’s move pushes the Federal Reserve into uncharted territory and will likely lead to a legal clash that could wind up at the Supreme Court.”

New York Times: “Ms. Cook has not been charged with any wrongdoing or convicted in court of a crime. Her dismissal threatened to touch off a landmark legal battle over the president’s authority to fire members of the independent board. The Federal Reserve Act, the law that charters the central bank, would allow Mr. Trump to dismiss a governor if he could demonstrate cause, typically defined as professional neglect or malfeasance.”