News in brief for September 26

Fed's Cook asks Supreme Court to reject Trump's attempt to fire her

(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to reject President Donald Trump's unprecedented attempt to oust her from the central bank's board.

Lawyers for Cook filed a written response opposing the administration's September 18 emergency request to lift a federal judge's order that blocked the Republican president from removing Cook, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, while litigation over the termination continues.

Washington-based U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled on September 9 that Trump's claims that Cook committed mortgage fraud before taking office - an allegation Cook denies - likely were not sufficient grounds for removal under the 1913 law that created the Fed.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a 2-1 ruling on September 15 denied the administration's request to put Cobb's order on hold, ruling that Cook likely was denied due process in violation of the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment.

Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor, sued Trump in August after the president announced he would remove her. Cook has said the claims made by Trump against her did not give the president the legal authority to remove her and were a pretext to fire her for her monetary policy stance.

Earlier on Thursday, a group of 18 former U.S. Federal Reserve officials, Treasury secretaries and other top economic officials who served under presidents from both parties urged the Supreme Court in a brief to reject Trump's petition to allow his attempt to fire Cook.

Oklahoma education chief who promoted Bibles in schools resigns

(NYT) - Ryan Walters, a right-wing educator who drew criticism from across the political spectrum for his efforts to inject religion into public schools, will resign from his post as Oklahoma's school superintendent.

He will join the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a nonprofit that seeks to limit the influence of teachers unions, as its chief executive.

"We're going to destroy the teachers unions," he said in a Fox News appearance Wednesday. "We have seen the teachers unions use money and power to corrupt our schools."

The resignation is expected to take effect by the end of the month.

Walters, 40, was elected state superintendent in 2022. Throughout his tenure, he staked out conservative positions that often drew national controversy. In June 2024, he issued a directive that all Oklahoma public schools must teach the Bible, including the Ten Commandments.

He recently said that all Oklahoma high schools would have a chapter of Turning Point USA, the right-wing youth group founded by Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated this month. And during his tenure, the state adopted social studies learning standards that echoed President Donald Trump's claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

When Trump was assembling his current Cabinet, Walters was discussed as a possible nominee for secretary of education. He has also indicated interest in running for governor. He was clearly politically ambitious, but consistently drew criticism from liberals and also some conservatives. They worried that his policies blurred the separation of church and state, and injected ideology into the classroom.