Episode summary
Supreme Court Thwarts Trump Bid to Oust Fed’s Cook | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · 21 min · Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Scarlet Fu · Guests: Nick Akerman, Mike McGlone, John Butler, Nathan Dean
Summary
The discussion centered first on the Supreme Court’s move to expand presidential removal power over many independent agencies while leaving the Federal Reserve in a different category. A guest argued that the court effectively blocked an attempt to use the ruling to remove Lisa Cook from the Fed without cause, but opened the door for the president to replace FTC commissioners and potentially reshape other regulators, making them more partisan over time. He also said the Fed should remain insulated from direct political pressure on interest rates, and that a separate upcoming ruling on birthright citizenship should have little economic impact compared with immigration-related decisions affecting labor supply.
The episode then turned to commodities, where Mike McGlone said oil, gold, and other markets are moving into weaker, more normal cycles as supply grows and demand cools. He argued crude could head below $50 and eventually toward $40 in the second half of the year if the stock market softens, while gold may be stuck in a long range with support around 3,400 and resistance near 4,400. He also tied lower commodity prices to President Trump’s political need for lower inflation.
Later segments covered SpaceX’s interest in Charter and the structural limits of satellite-to-wireless competition, and a housing bill that passed Congress but may still become law without a signature. The policy analyst said the housing bill has limited short-term impact but could modestly support new supply over several years, while the host and the analyst discussed whether Trump would use the bill to pressure Congress on his voting-rights agenda.
Key takeaways
- The Supreme Court’s ruling strengthens presidential control over many agencies, but a guest said it does not let the White House fire Fed officials like Lisa Cook without cause.
- A guest said the FTC decision could make future commissions more partisan because presidents may be able to replace commissioners more freely.
- Mike McGlone said crude oil could fall below $50 and potentially toward $40 in the second half of the year if equities weaken and supply keeps rising.
- McGlone said gold may enter a long range, with support around 3,400 and resistance near 4,400.
- A policy analyst said the housing bill would not quickly lower home prices, but could add 1% to 3% new-home growth over 3 to 5 years.
- The analyst said SpaceX would still likely need wholesale network deals even if it buys or partners with Charter, because spectrum remains a constraint.
Notable quotes
“my base case for second half of the year is we're going to press below that and potentially towards 40”
“the short term, if you're listening to us right now in New York City, is it going to decline the price of homes or make it more affordable? No”
“This is essentially just messaging from the short-term side”
How the episode opens
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Here's a great lead sentence in a Bloomberg News story by Greg Sto. A divided US Supreme Court expanded the president's power to fire top government officials in a blockbuster decision that puts the White House firmly in control of potentially dozens of agencies that have long operated independently. I'm not sure how to think about that.
Uh I think everybody's trying to digest it. Nick Arian, he's got some thoughts. He's a former assistant special Watergate prosecutor.
Nick, thanks so much for joining us here. It seems like the executive branch just got a big big win today. How do you think about that?
Well, they did and they didn't. Uh they certainly got it on all of the agencies other than the Fed. Uh the Supreme Court told the president that he cannot uh fire Lisa Cook uh unless he fires her for cause, gives her notice, has a hearing.
Uh he can't just use it to basically take over the Fed uh and bend the Fed to his will. uh the court there said very clearly that Congress intended uh that the Fed would have independent power um to regulate the economy. Now on the other hand the case the other case that came out today had to do with the Federal Trade Commission uh where the court essentially went along with this unitary executive theory uh that if the agency itself was doing um what would normally be done by the president as part of his executive um authorities I mean keep in mind that the FTC uh does antitrust enforcement pretty much the same thing that the department of justice does um that what the court said was that those are matters um within the realm of the executive power and therefore uh the president has the right to fire those people.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- supreme court fed removal powers
- energy markets oil prices
- u.s.-iran peace talks
- telecom broadband via satellite network capacity
- housing act legislation outlook
Companies and tickers mentioned
- CHTR
- SpaceX
- Charter Communications
Watch the episode
Watch “Supreme Court Thwarts Trump Bid to Oust Fed’s Cook | Bloomberg Intelligence” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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