Trump moves to oust Fed Gov. Lisa Cook and a new West Bank settlement threatens a two-state solution: Morning Rundown

Trump says he is firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook. An Israel-approved West Bank development has Palestinians worried. Illinois’ governor calls Trump’s threat to use the military to police Chicago a “dangerous power grab.” And the rise of Joshes.

Here’s what to know today.

Trump moves to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook

President Donald Trump says he’s firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook effective immediately, posting a letter informing her of the move on Truth Social.

Trump cited Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte’s “criminal referral” from Aug. 15, where Pulte accused Cook of mortgage fraud.

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Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the board of the Fed — one of the world’s most important independent central banks — challenged her firing in a defiant statement.

“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” she said. “I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”

In an earlier statement responding to Pulte’s allegations, Cook said she learned about them through media reports. She said she had “no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet.”

The Trump administration has also accused Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif, and New York Attorney General Letitia James of mortgage fraud — both outspoken critics of the president — of mortgage fraud.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, called Trump’s actions “an authoritarian power grab that blatantly violates the Federal Reserve Act, and must be overturned in court.”

Read the full story here.

More politics news:

• After the U.S. took 10% of Intel, many taxpayers are wondering what that means for them.

• Vice President JD Vance said Russia has made “significant concessions” in Ukraine talks. Russian officials’ public statements have suggested the opposite.

• The House Oversight Committee announced that former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta will appear before the panel as part of its Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

• President Donald Trump said he would target former President Joe Biden’s circle, calling them “evil people.”

• Mount Rushmore is huge, but not big enough for Trump’s face.

Trump and Illinois political leaders clash over National Guard deployment plan

As the National Guard takes post in Washington D.C. to address what President Donald Trump called an epidemic of “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse,” he said that Chicago and New York are next on his list. Illinois political leaders did not take kindly to that, asserting that deploying soldiers would be baseless and a clear case of federal overreach.

“Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a U.S. city, punish his dissidents and score political points,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said. “If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is — a dangerous power grab.”

Pritzker said that there isn’t an emergency in Chicago that warrants “armed military intervention.” He said at a news conference that the number of homicides in Chicago has fallen 32% from last year, while vehicle thefts and burglaries are both down by more than 20%.

The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon has spent weeks planning a military deployment to Chicago, citing officials familiar with the matter.

In his response to Illinois political leaders, Trump told reporters that Chicago is a “disaster” and called Pritzker “corrupt.” He also signed an executive order to create National Guard units focused on “public order issues.”

Read the full story here.

More on Trump’s executive orders:

• President Donald Trump signed executive orders aimed at eliminating cashless bail in Washington, D.C., and in other jurisdictions around the country.

• Federal authorities arrested a man near the White House after he set an American flag on fire the day Trump signed an executive order intended to crack down on flag burning.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia finds himself in immigration limbo again

From the U.S. to El Salvador and back to the U.S., Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation status remains uncertain after U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to send him to Uganda.

Abrego was released from federal custody last week after being deported to El Salvador in March for what officials called an “administrative error.” He was taken back into custody yesterday after a check-in with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore as part of the conditions of his release.

Abrego’s detainment was expected by his attorneys after the Trump administration announced its intentions to deport him to Uganda. Abrego filed a new lawsuit to block the move, pending his immigration proceedings.

Upon his return to the U.S. on June 6, Abrego was hit with human smuggling charges in Tennessee in which the Trump administration put a plea deal on the table: Plead guilty, serve time and then get deported to Costa Rica.

Abrego’s lawyer said his client would not accept the plea deal as Abrego “will not accept charges of which he’s not guilty.”

Read the full story here.

How a tiny strip of land could undermine Palestinian statehood

When Israeli authorities approved the development of 3,400 homes on almost five square miles of land, ultranationalist lawmakers celebrated what they saw as the death of the potential of a Palestinian state and an acceleration for Israel to annex the whole of the West Bank.

The undeveloped piece of land was once seen as a possible location for future Palestinian institutions, considering how little available real estate is left in the area. The development “practically erases the two-state delusion and consolidates the Jewish people’s hold on the heart of the Land of Israel,” Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, told a news conference.

When the plans were offered in the early 1990s, Israeli authorities and Jewish settlers emphasized the practical needs for new development as Jerusalem had become too crowded.

But Palestinians say the area is the only undeveloped land that might host government buildings for a new state. The new development would also break any Palestinian geographic continuity between the north and south, splitting the West Bank in two and fracturing a potential Palestinian state already divided between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The U.K., France and Canada were among 21 countries that criticized the development plans as a “violation of international law” in a statement.

Read the full story here.

Read All About It

• At least a half-dozen universities welcomed students to the first-day-of-fall classes with run-and-hide warnings about possible gunmen on campus.

• Lil Nas X was charged with four felonies after allegedly assaulting officers while wandering naked on L.A. street.

• The Florida Transportation Department once again painted over a rainbow crosswalk in Orlando that was part of the Pulse Memorial after protesters filled it in with multicolored chalk.

• Cracker Barrel reassured customers that its values have remained the same after criticism of its new logo revealed a brand refresh.

• The Irish rap group Kneecap canceled all of its upcoming tour dates in the U.S. because of a member’s court date over a terrorism-related charge.

• A Utah district judge ruled the state must redraw its congressional districts because the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature erred when it overruled a ballot measure passed by voters that sought to rein in partisan gerrymandering.

Staff Pick: It’s the golden age of ‘Josh’

Men named John, Joe and Ed have long dominated politics, but there’s a new name in town: Josh.

There’s a real chance that a presidential election in 2028 could have one — or even two — candidates named Josh.

Joshes are everywhere these days. Josh Allen could lead the Bills to the Super Bowl this year. (Fingers crossed!) Josh wine is a top-seller. And there are a record number of politicians named Josh in Congress and as governors. It’s all a sign of a generational change, with the boom of Joshes now coming to power. — Amanda Terkel, politics managing editor

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