A case that could provide the Trump administration with new and expansive power over the traditionally independent Federal Reserve will get its first court hearing Friday. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has requested an emergency injunction to block President Donald Trump's attempt to fire her over allegations that she committed mortgage fraud when she purchased a home and condo in 2021. She was appointed to the Fed's board by former president Joe Biden in 2022. If her firing is allowed to stand, it would likely erode the Fed's longstanding independence from day-to-day politics. No president has ever fired a Fed governor in the agency's 112-year history. Economists broadly support Fed independence because it makes it easier for the central bank to take unpopular steps such as raising interest rates to combat inflation. Cook has asked the court to issue an emergency order that would block Trump's firing of her and enable her to remain on the seven-member board of governors while her lawsuit seeking to overturn the firing makes its way through the courts. Many observers expect her case will end up at the U.S. Supreme Court. On Friday, the Justice Department responded to Cook's suit. In a court filing the department said that “incredibly, Dr. Cook even now hazards no explanation for her conduct and points to nothing she would say or prove in any hearing that would conceivably alter the President’s determination that the perception of financial misconduct alone is intolerable in this role.’’ The department also argued that any court review of Trump’s decision to fire Cook would “have to be highly deferential, lest it intrude into the President’s constitutional authority’’ over key government officials. In a statement, Cook’s lawyer, Abbe David Lowell, decried “an obvious smear campaign aimed at discrediting Gov. Cook ... Nothing in these vague, unsubstantiated allegations has any relevance to Gov Cook’s role at the Federal Reserve, and they in no way justify her removal from the Board." The law governing the Fed says the president can't fire a governor just because they disagree over interest rate policy. Trump has repeatedly demanded that the Fed, led by Chair Jerome Powell, reduce its key interest rate, which is currently 4.3%. Yet the Fed has kept it unchanged for the last five meetings. But the president may be able to fire a Fed governor “for cause,” which has traditionally been interpreted to mean inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. Cook's lawyers argue that it also refers only to conduct while in office. They also say that she was entitled to a hearing and an opportunity to rebut the charges.