Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said President Donald Trump acted squarely within his constitutional authority in removing Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, telling Newsmax on Tuesday the move would be upheld under recent Supreme Court precedent.
Schmitt, a former Missouri attorney general, joined "Rob Schmitt Tonight" to discuss the sequence of events, blasting Cook as "a disaster of a nominee" and dismissing criticism from the left.
"I can't tell you how many times these Democrats on all these stupid shows go on there and say ridiculous things about how court cases are going to turn out, and they turn out to be absolutely wrong, 100% wrong," Schmitt said.
"President Trump is well within his rights based on a recent Supreme Court decision, the Trump v. Wilcox decision, that made clear, after decades of uncertainty, that the president of the United States has the authority under his Article II powers to remove people, especially for cause, from independent agencies like this."
Trump on Monday removed Cook from the Federal Reserve Board, setting off a legal challenge from Cook on Tuesday.
Cook's attorney said, "President Trump has no authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook."
Wrong, Schmitt said, noting that Trump has already exercised those powers successfully, pointing to his removal of members of the National Labor Relations Board earlier this year.
"It was upheld. It's going to be upheld here," he said.
The senator added that Trump's case for removing Cook is even stronger because of the mortgage fraud criminal referral linked to allegations against her.
"That gives him more than enough authority to get rid of her at this moment in time," Schmitt argued.
He emphasized that Trump's legal team is operating with precision in aligning the case with the new precedent.
"Even without the Wilcox decision, he would have been able to do it," Schmitt said. "But the Wilcox decision makes it very clear. They've got a smart legal team over at the Trump 47 White House right now. That 'for cause' thing is specifically tailored to meet within the confines of the recent Wilcox decision. So he's going to be successful here."
As for the outrage from mainstream outlets, Schmitt dismissed it as political theater.
"All the whining that they're doing on CNN and MSNBC will be for naught, and they'll look like fools once again," he said.
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