What we’re watching
• The Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to immediately fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, further cementing the Fed’s independence.
• The court, meanwhile, expanded the president’s power to fire officials, overturning the nearly century-old precedent Humphrey’s Executor. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissent, said it “promises only chaos.”
• The justices also upheld state laws that count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day, an unexpected rebuff of Trump’s longstanding attacks on mail-in voting. Trump immediately called for Congress to pass the “SAVE America Act,” which would limit mail ballots and install strict new ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting.
• The court also denied President Donald Trump’s appeal of the E. Jean Carroll verdict, meaning he must pay $5 million to the former columnist. Justices also denied Alan Dershowitz’s defamation appeal against CNN.
