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Developer pulls out of massive Charles City County data center

SUMMARY:

  • withdrew plans for a 515-acre data center in
  • Residents opposed noise and future industrial land use
  • Company cited concerns about site readiness

Kansas-based development company Diode Ventures has backed out of a massive data center campus in Charles City County, following significant opposition to the project.

The center would have been located about 20 miles outside of . The company had sought to rezone five properties totaling about 515 acres from agricultural to light industrial for the development of the Roxbury Technology Park campus. The site, which is about three-fifths the size of New York’s Central Park, is bordered by Charles City, CC and Roxbury roads. Diode Ventures submitted an application with the county in March.

Charles City County Director of Community Development Gary Mitchell said the application was unanimously approved by the but faced opposition from neighboring residents. Criticisms included fears about noise and objections to the land transforming into an industrial use. However, Mitchell noted that while the land wasn’t zoned for industrial, a land use plan called for it to be changed to industrial use at some point.

The county board of supervisors in June tabled voting on the application to Aug. 26. But Mitchell said that Diode withdrew the application last week without providing much explanation.

A Diode Ventures spokesperson on Tuesday provided a statement saying the company has spent the better part of two years working in the county to analyze the site for data center development while adjusting its application based on community feedback.

“During that time, we also identified ways the community would benefit — such as improved local infrastructure, significant new tax revenue streams and job training initiatives,” the spokesperson said.

However, after careful consideration, Diode said it notified the supervisors on Aug. 18 that it would withdraw its applications for the site.

“Despite the county planning commission’s support of the project earlier this year, we made the decision to shift our focus elsewhere based on the results of conversations with our local collaborators and analysis of the site’s availability to be shovel-ready with power and municipal support,’ the spokesperson said. “Moving forward, Diode is committed to seeking opportunities to align future projects and their associated substantial financial and infrastructure benefits with the needs and values of the communities where we operate — much like we have in places like Kansas City, where we have helped bring millions of dollars to schools and job training efforts. We thank those who engaged with us during this process, and we wish Charles City County success. ”

County supervisors could not be immediately reached for comment.

The county’s staff report for the project described digital commerce as “the next industrial revolution,” saying it was “vitally important” that the county be included in the new digital economy.

The project was expected to generate between 800 to 1,200 construction jobs during peak construction, according to Diode’s website. The website also says that the project would have created between 50 to 100 full-time permanent jobs once operational.

, despite being an attractive tax revenue opportunity for localities’ coffers, have become increasingly subject to opposition by residents throughout the state. In June, Chesapeake City Council unanimously voted to deny a rezoning request that would have allowed Hampton Roads’ first major data center, and in April, a Herndon data center developer withdrew its $8.85 billion proposal for a data center campus and natural gas power plant in Pittsylvania County.

Loudoun County, aka Data Center Alley, in March approved a new regulation policy for data centers, eliminating them as a by-right use, although 24 applications were grandfathered in. As of February, the county had approximately 46 million square feet of data centers constructed or with a building permit issued, and about 61.5 million square feet of potential data center development.

Amentum wins $4B Space Force contract

Chantilly-based government contractor , through its subsidiary Jacobs Technology, has been awarded a contract of up to $4 billion from the United States to provide and services.

The 10-year Force Range Contract seeks Amentum’s help to modernize space launch operations.

“Amentum will execute this contract to ensure the Space Force maintains assured access to space in support of national security, exploration and commercial missions,” said Mark Walter, of Amentum’s engineering and technology group, in a statement.

Under this contract, the company will provide systems engineering, cybersecurity, integration, logistics, sustainment, operations and program management services to support Assured Access to Space, the largest organization within Space Systems Command. It will also update the Launch and Test Range System — a complex network supporting launch and test activity.

The company says modernizing the LTRS will enable a high-cadence, multiuser spaceport model for national security, space exploration and commercial launch operations.

Amentum’s initiatives will include recruiting and retaining low-density or high-demand technical talent such as machinists, radar specialists, data scientists and engineers.

The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract started on June 1, according to an announcement from last week. Work will take place across both the Eastern and Western Ranges, including Patrick Space Force Base, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Vandenberg Space Force Base and several geographically separated units.

Virginia’s chance to legalize marijuana right

SUMMARY:

  • Executive director of Virginia-based nonprofit discusses goals in regulated adult-use market in Virginia
  • State lawmakers are set to take up matter in upcoming session after legalizing medical marijuana
  • Learn from other states’ experiences, keep taxes below 15% and invest locally, writes Chelsea Higgs Wise

As Virginia lawmakers craft the licensing framework for a regulated adult-use cannabis market, there are many lessons to be learned from other jurisdictions. Virginia has a unique opportunity to legalize it right — demonstrating that reparative justice and local economic prosperity can go hand-in-hand — while not overlooking the pitfalls of others.

Don’t allow monopolies. Canada’s legalization system allows an individual license holder to both grow the product and run the consumer stores that sell it. Nevada and Florida have similarly allowed vertical integration, as has Virginia with medical marijuana. In all cases, a few large “seed-to-sale” corporations have captured the market, squeezing out both small growers and small local sellers. state, by comparison, prohibited vertical integration and limited the number of sites any single company could operate, leading to a healthy community of independent businesses. New York went even further by capping licenses per entity, and banning predatory management agreements that let large firms use equity licensees as fronts.

Lesson learned: Build a competitive, two-tiered market. By separating producers and retailers, we prevent any one business from controlling the supply chain. Prioritize licenses for small businesses — including legacy and farmers. Absent strong legislation, Virginia’s adult cannabis market is likely to emulate its medical marijuana market, which has been dominated by a handful of out-of-state, multimillion dollar corporations. Virginia’s legislators have the opportunity to ensure our small Virginia businesses are included in all phases and stages of this industry.

Make sure the regulated market can compete with the illicit market. In Michigan, the eagerness for immediate tax revenue led to a process that flooded the market. With so many licenses, prices collapsed and eventually drove many licensees out of business, which also led to a reduction in revenue. Virginia’s medical marijuana monopoly has driven prices so high that many of our most vulnerable medical patients choose to either stick with the illicit market or drive to Maryland. 

Lesson learned: Build a smart, strategic rollout. We’re all eager to launch access, but it’s critical that we legalize a competitive and sustainable market. Yes, we need to be able to quickly ramp up to at least one licensed store per 25,000 residents. At the same time, we need to be sure we’ve heard from all localities, researched market demand and created a network of resources that support our local entrepreneurs. Focusing on the short-term or immediate revenue gains will not allow Virginia to fully realize the potential of this industry on our economy.

Lesson learned: Keep combined state and local taxes at or below 15%. Excessive taxes will increase prices that simply fuel the illicit market. We must tax cannabis at a rate that keeps the prices competitive. 

Keep the focus on our goals. Virginia legislators made clear when they voted to legalize cannabis in 2021 that one key goal was repairing Black, rural, and other communities hurt by unfair drug policies of the past. Investing in repair is not just a moral imperative, it’s sound economic strategy. A 2022 study by Supernova Women / Cannabis Impact Fund found that for every dollar invested in a social equity program, there is a projected $1.20 return in the form of new tax revenue, increased economic activity, and reduced social costs. Washington state regulators, for all their success encouraging small businesses, failed to prioritize their equity goals. Minority-owned businesses in Washington continue to struggle in getting a foothold in the industry that once targeted their community.

Lesson learned: Invest in impacted , communities and local farmers. New York , for example, calls for half of the licenses issued to go to people from impacted communities and those with past cannabis convictions. Focusing on harms based on evidence while avoiding litigation will be a delicate balance, but is both absolutely necessary and achievable for Virginia.

The choice is clear: Design a market rooted in fairness, competition and repair that will benefit the commonwealth for generations to come rather than ignoring the lessons learned from other states for big money now. By embedding safeguards against consolidation, investing in the repair of impacted people and communities, and ensuring fair competition, Virginia can legalize cannabis right, with a strong, local industry that creates wealth broadly, boosts revenue and keeps consumers safe.

Chelsea Higgs Wise, MSW, is the co-founder and executive director of Virginia-based nonprofit Marijuana Justice. Wise serves on the national United for Marijuana Decriminalization Coalition steering committee, as well as the Global Justice in Emerging Cannabis Cohort.

Activation Capital taps new CEO

Richmond tech announced Tuesday that it has appointed Michael Steele as and .

He succeeds Robert Ward, who has served as interim CEO since July 2024. Ward took on the role following the departure of Chandra Briggman, who left to pursue other opportunities.

Activation Capital is an accelerator arm of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority, a  political subdivision of the state government. Activation Capital aims to commercialize local biohealth research and build a biohealth hub in Central Virginia. It connects entrepreneurs and researchers, provides lab facilities and office , offers networking opportunities and has accelerator programs.

Steele, a Virginia native, has over two decades of experience in therapeutic, diagnostic and research industries and has worked in general management, corporate development, commercial and operational roles. He has held senior leadership positions at organizations such as Biocartis, Chembio Diagnostics, SeraCare Life Sciences and Serologicals.

He has an MBA and a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and completed the Senior Leadership Program at Vlerick Business School in Brussels.

“Activation Capital’s mission depends on exceptional leadership, and Michael brings the vision, expertise and collaborative spirit needed to position the organization for even greater impact,” said Michael Rao, president of Virginia Commonwealth University and chair of the Activation Capital Board, in a statement. “We are excited to bring him on board.”

In the past year, Activation Capital launched the Frontier BioHealth accelerator and showcase, welcomed its inaugural cohort of 10 high-growth and expanded Start-the-Journey, a pre-accelerator for emerging founders. The organization also secured a multimillion-dollar GO Virginia grant to scale biohealth sector development.

“I am energized and honored to lead Activation Capital at this pivotal moment,” said Steele in a statement. “We’re building on a strong foundation, growing our programs, supporting even more entrepreneurs, and expanding our impact across the commonwealth. In our mission of elevating Virginia’s life science ecosystem, my goal is simple yet impactful: create meaningful jobs and attract investments to catalyze our researchers, entrepreneurs, and partners to bring to life, right here in the commonwealth.”

Activation Capital is headquartered in Biotech Center, part of the 34-acre Virginia Bio+Tech Park. Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority aims to disseminate knowledge about scientific and technological research and is governed by a nine-member board of directors.

Wall Street holds steady just below recent records

Summary

  • up 0.1% as indexes hover near record highs
  • Dow slipped 15 points; Nasdaq gained 0.2%
  • Boeing rose 2% on $50B Korean Air order for 100+ planes
  • steady; fell; Europe and Asia lower

capped a choppy day of trading Tuesday with slight gains for stocks, leaving the major indexes just below their recent all-time highs.

The S&P 500 closed 0.4% higher after wavering between small gains and losses for much of the day. The benchmark index finished just 2.6 points below its record high set earlier this month and short of recouping all of its losses from the day before.

The Industrial Average also bounced back from an early slide, finishing with a 0.3% gain. The Nasdaq composite added 0.4%.

The market’s uneven start to the week comes after Wall Street notched big gains last week on hopes for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

Gains in technology, financial and industrial stocks helped outweigh losses in communication services and other sectors. Chipmaking giant Nvidia rose 1.1% and JPMorgan Chase added 1.2%.

Boeing rose 3.5% for one of the biggest gains among S&P 500 companies after Korean Air announced a $50 billion deal with the company that includes buying more than 100 aircraft. Dish Network parent EchoStar surged 70.2% after said it will buy some of its wireless in a $23 billion deal.

Treasury yields mostly fell in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.26% from 4.28% late Monday.

The broader market remained subdued following ‘s escalation of his fight with the Federal Reserve. On Monday, he said that he’s removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Cook’s lawyer said she’ll sue Trump’s administration to try to prevent him from firing her.

It marks the latest escalation in his dispute with the central bank over its cautious interest rate policy. The Fed has held rates steady since late 2024 over worries that Trump’s unpredictable tariff policy will reignite inflation. Trump has also threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, often taunting him with name-calling. Still, he is only one of 12 votes that decides interest rate policy.

“We will continue to monitor rising political pressure on the Fed but expect its decision-making to remain guided by its mandate in the near term,” said Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, chief investment officer for the Americas and global head of equities at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Wall Street is still betting that the Fed will trim its benchmark interest rate at its next meeting in September. Traders see an 87% chance that the central bank will cut the rate by a quarter of a percentage point, according to data from CME Group.

The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, slipped to to 3.68% from 3.73% late Friday.

The Federal Reserve spent much of the last several years fighting rising inflation by raising interest rates. It managed to mostly tame inflation and avoided having those higher rates stall economic growth, thanks largely to strong consumer spending and a resilient job market.

The Fed started shifting its policy by cutting its benchmark interest rate late in 2024 as the rate of inflation neared its target of 2%. It decided to hit the pause button heading into 2025 over concerns that Trump’s unpredictable tariff policy could reignite inflation. Lower interest rates make borrowing easier, helping to spur more investment and spending, but that could also potentially fuel inflation.

The Fed and Wall Street will get another update on inflation Friday, when the U.S. releases the personal consumption expenditures index. Economists expect it show that inflation remained at about 2.6% in July, compared with a year ago. Businesses have been warning investors and consumers about higher costs and prices because of tariffs.

The Fed has recently become more worried about the state of the employment market, which has shown signs of weakening. Aside from keeping inflation in check, the central bank is tasked with using its tools to help maintain a healthy job market. It will get another big update on the employment market in early September, ahead of its next policy meeting.

Consumer confidence declined modestly in August as anxiety over a weakening job market grew for the eighth straight month. The small decline from The ‘s monthly survey was mostly in line with economists’ projections.

Crude oil prices fell. European and Asian markets closed lower.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 26.62 points to 6,465.94. The Dow gained 135.60 points to 45,418.07, and the Nasdaq added 94.98 points to 21,544.27.

Trump administration threatens some funding for 3 states for not enforcing trucker English rules

Summary

  • Duffy says 3 states risk losing millions in
  • , Washington and cited in probe
  • Rule requires truckers to show English proficiency
  • Investigation launched after deadly Florida truck crash

California, Washington and New Mexico could lose millions of dollars of federal funding if they continue failing to enforce English language requirements for truckers, Transportation Secretary said Tuesday.

An investigation launched after a deadly Florida crash involving a foreign truck driver who made an illegal U-turn on Aug. 12 found what Duffy called significant failures in the way all three states are enforcing rules that took effect in June after one of ‘s executive orders. He said the department was also already reviewing how states were enforcing the rules before the crash.

Truckers are supposed to be disqualified if they can’t demonstrate English proficiency and Duffy said the driver involved in the crash that killed three should not have ever been given a commercial driver’s license because of his immigration status. But the crash has become increasingly political with the governors of California and Florida criticizing each other and Duffy highlighting the ‘s immigration concerns in interviews.

But Duffy said Tuesday that it is a safety issue — not a political one — because truckers need to understand road signs and be able to communicate with enforcement about what they are hauling if they are pulled over or what happened if there is an accident.

“This is about keeping safe on the road. Your families, your kids, your spouses, your loved ones, your friends. We all use the roadway, and we need to make sure that those who are driving big rigs — semis — can understand the road signs, that they’ve been well trained,” Duffy said.

Duffy says these states aren’t enforcing the rules

The Transportation Department said California has conducted roughly 34,000 inspections that found at least one violation since the new language standards took effect requiring truck drivers be able to recognize and read road signs and communicate with authorities in English. But only one inspection involved an English language rules violation that resulted in a driver being taken out of service. And 23 drivers with violations in other states were allowed to continue driving after inspections in California.

He cited similar statistics for the other states with Washington finding more than 6,000 violations of safety rules during inspections, but only pulling four drivers out of service for English language violations. New Mexico has not placed any drivers out of service since the rules took effect.

Duffy said the states will lose money from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program if they don’t comply with the rules within 30 days. Duffy said California could lose $33 million, Washington could lose $10.5 million and New Mexico could lose $7 million. The states did not immediately respond to the proposed sanctions that were announced before officials start their day on the West Coast.

Florida crash killed three people

Three people were killed when truck driver Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on a highway, according to Florida’s Highway Patrol. He is being held without bond after being charged with three state counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations.

A nearby minivan slammed into Singh’s trailer as he made the turn on a highway about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach. Singh and his passenger were not injured.

Diamond R. Litty, the elected public defender in St. Lucie County, said her office was provisionally assigned to Singh’s case during his initial appearance Saturday morning. A review of his finances will determine whether Litty’s office remains on the case.

Litty said her office will focus on the criminal charges against Singh, who is presumed innocent, but they will also work with an immigration attorney to determine how Singh’s status affects the case. After more than three decades at her position, Litty said she can’t recall a case that garnered more attention than this one.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Singh has been caught in the crosshairs of ,” Litty said.

But the head of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association trade group that represents small-business truck drivers praised Duffy’s announcement.

“Basic English skills are critical for safely operating a commercial motor vehicle — reading road signs, following emergency instructions, and communicating with law enforcement are not optional. The fatal crash in Florida this month tragically illustrates what’s at stake,” the group’s , Todd Spencer, said.

Federal officials say truck driver was in U.S. illegally

The Department of Homeland Security has said Singh, a native of India, was in the country illegally. So Duffy said he should not have been granted a commercial driver’s licenses by Washington and California. He said New Mexico should have pulled Singh off the road for not speaking English after he was pulled over in July because he later failed a test given by DOT investigators after the Florida crash.

California is one of 19 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, that issues licenses regardless of immigration status. Supporters say that lets people work, visit doctors and travel safely.

But in addition, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office posted on the platform X that Singh obtained a work permit during Trump’s first term, which Homeland Security officials disputed. Newsom also said the permit was renewed in April and federal officials have not addressed that.

Florida authorities have said Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that Singh should have never received a commercial driver’s license.

“You’re not allowed to issue a CDL to somebody who is not in this country legally. You’re not allowed to issue a CDL to somebody who is not capable of understanding traffic signs,” DeSantis said, calling the crash an “avoidable tragedy.”

U.S. consumer confidence dips in August on job worries

Summary

  • index fell to 97.4 in August
  • Decline driven by rising anxiety
  • Expectations index dropped to 74.8, below recession marker
  • Current economic conditions index also edged lower

(AP) — Americans’ view of the declined modestly in August as anxiety over a weakening job market grew for the eighth straight month.

The said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index ticked down by 1.3 points to 97.4 in August, down from July’s 98.7, but in the same narrow range of the past three months.

The small decline in confidence was in line with the forecasts of most of the economists who were surveyed.

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market fell by 1.2 points to 74.8, remaining significantly below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead.

Consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation also fell modestly, to 131.2 in August from 132.8 in July.

While the unemployment and layoffs remain historically low, there has been noticeable deterioration in the labor market this year and mounting evidence that are having difficulty finding jobs.

U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs in July, well short of the 115,000 analysts expected. Worse, revisions to the May and June figures shaved 258,000 jobs off previous estimates and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%.

That report sent financial markets spiraling, spurring to fire Erika McEntarfer, the head of Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tallies the monthly employment numbers.

Another government report showed that U.S. employers posted 7.4 million job vacancies in June, down from 7.7 million in May. The number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects elsewhere — also fell.

More jobs data comes next week when the government releases its August job gains and June job openings reports.

The Conference Board’s report said that references to high prices and inflation increased again and were often mentioned in tandem with tariffs.

Other government data this month showed that while prices at the consumer level held fairly steady from June to July, U.S. wholesale inflation surged unexpectedly last month. Economists say that’s a sign that Trump’s sweeping taxes on imports are pushing costs up and that higher prices for consumers may be on the way.

The share of consumers expecting a recession over the next year rose in August to the highest level since April, when Trump’s tariff rollout began.

The share of survey respondents who said they intended to buy a car in the near future rose, while those planning to purchase a home remained stable after July’s decline.

Those saying they planned to buy big-ticket items like appliances fell, but there were big variations among product categories. Respondents who said they planned to take a vacation soon, either inside of the U.S. or abroad, also declined.

AT&T snatches up wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar for $23 billion

AT&T will spend $23 billion to acquire certain wireless from , a significant expansion of ‘s low- and mid-band coverage networks.

AT&T said Tuesday that the licenses cover virtually every U.S. market — more than 400 total — which the company plans to deploy as soon as possible to lure more home internet subscribers and meet its growth goals.

The deal also fortifies the long-term services agreement between AT&T and EchoStar, enabling the latter to operate as a hybrid mobile network operator providing wireless service under its brand. AT&T will be the primary network services partner to EchoStar.

Shares of EchoStar, based in Englewood, Colorado, soared 76% at the opening bell Tuesday.

“This acquisition bolsters and expands our spectrum portfolio while enhancing customers’ 5G wireless and home internet experience in even more markets,” said AT&T John Stankey. ”We’re adding fuel to our winning strategy of investing in valuable wireless and broadband assets to become America’s best connectivity provider.”

Late in 2024, AT&T said it would expand its fiber broadband network to more than 50 million locations by the end of 2029, while actively working to exit its legacy copper network operations across most of its wireline footprint.

AT&T expects to have largely completed the modernization of its 5G wireless network with open technology by 2027. The company said the network will be able to support super-fast download speeds and serve as a platform for new product and GenAI .

In its most recent earnings report in July, AT&T said it expected to realize up to $8 billion of cash tax savings from 2025 to 2027 due to tax provisions in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act. AT&T estimated that it would invest $3.5 billion of those savings into its network to accelerate its fiber internet build-out.

Shares of AT&T Inc., based in Dallas, rose less than 1% Tuesday.

Trump says he’s firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook, opening new front in fight for central bank control

Summary

  • Trump says he’s firing Federal Reserve Governor
  • Cites allegations of mortgage fraud from Trump appointee
  • Cook says Trump lacks authority to remove her
  • Move escalates Trump’s push for Fed control

(AP) — said Monday night that he’s firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented move that would constitute a sharp escalation in his battle to exert greater control over what has long been considered an institution independent from day-to-day .

Trump said in a letter posted on his platform that he is removing Cook effective immediately because of allegations that she committed mortgage fraud.

Cook said Monday night that she would not step down. “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 in an emailed statement. “I will not resign.”

Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, made the accusations last week. Pulte alleged that Cook had claimed two primary residences — in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Atlanta — in 2021 to get better mortgage terms. Mortgage rates are often higher on second homes or those purchased to rent.

Trump’s move is likely to touch off an extensive battle that will probably go to the Supreme Court and could disrupt financial markets. Stock futures declined slightly late Monday, as did the dollar against other major currencies.

If Trump succeeds in removing Cook from the board, it could erode the Fed’s political independence, which is considered critical to its ability to fight inflation because it enables it to take unpopular steps like raising interest rates. If bond investors start to lose faith that the Fed will be able to control inflation, they will demand higher rates to own bonds, pushing up borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans and business loans.

Cook has retained Abbe Lowell, a prominent Washington attorney. Lowell said Trump’s “reflex to bully is flawed and his demands lack any proper process, basis or legal authority,” adding, “We will take whatever actions are needed to prevent his attempted illegal action.”

Cook was appointed to the Fed’s board by then-President Joe Biden in 2022 and is the first Black woman to serve as a governor. She was a Marshall Scholar and received degrees from Oxford University and Spelman College, and she has taught at Michigan State University and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Her nomination was opposed by most Senate Republicans, and she was approved on a 50-50 vote with the tie broken by then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Questions about ‘for cause’ firing

The law allows a president to fire a Fed governor “for cause,” which typically means for some kind of wrongdoing or dereliction of duty. The president cannot fire a governor simply because of differences over interest rate policy.

Establishing a for-cause removal typically requires some type of proceeding that would allow Cook to answer the charges and present evidence, legal experts say, which hasn’t happened in this case.

“This is a procedurally invalid removal under the statute,” said Lev Menand, a law professor at Columbia law school and author of “The Fed Unbound,” a book about the Fed’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Menand also said for-cause firings are typically related to misconduct while in office, rather than based on private misconduct from before an official’s appointment.

“This is not someone convicted of a crime,” Menand said. “This is not someone who is not carrying out their duties.”

Fed governors vote on the ‘s interest rate decisions and on issues of financial regulation. While they are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, they are not like cabinet secretaries, who serve at the pleasure of the president. They serve 14-year terms that are staggered in an effort to insulate the Fed from political influence.

No presidential precedent

While presidents have clashed with Fed chairs before, no president has sought to fire a Fed governor. In recent decades, presidents of both parties have largely respected , though Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson put heavy pressure on the Fed during their presidencies — mostly behind closed doors. Still, that behind-the-scenes pressure to keep interest rates low, the same goal sought by Trump, has widely been blamed for touching off rampant inflation in the late 1960s and ’70s.

President Harry Truman pushed Thomas McCabe to step down from his position as Fed chair in 1951, though that occurred behind the scenes.

The Supreme Court signaled in a recent decision that Fed officials have greater legal protections from firing than other independent agencies, but it’s not clear if that extends to this case.

Menand noted that the Court’s conservative majority has taken a very expansive view of presidential power, saying, “We’re in uncharted waters in a sense that it’s very difficult to predict that if Lisa Cook goes to court what will happen.”

Sarah Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the president’s use of the “for cause” provision is likely an effort to mask his true intent. “It seems like a fig leaf to get what we wants, which is muscling someone on the board to lower rates,” she said.

A fight over interest rates

Trump has said he would only appoint Fed officials who would support lower borrowing costs. He recently named Stephen Miran, a top White House economic adviser, to replace another governor, Adriana Kugler, who stepped down about five months before her term officially ended Aug. 1.

Trump appointed two governors in his first term, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, so replacing Cook would give Trump appointees a 4-3 majority on the Fed’s board.

“The American must have the full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve,” Trump wrote in a letter addressed to Cook, a copy of which he posted online. “In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot and I do not have such confidence in your integrity.”

Trump argued that firing Cook was constitutional. “I have determined that faithfully enacting the law requires your immediate removal from office,” the president wrote.

Cook will have to fight the legal battle herself, as the injured party, rather than the Fed.

Trump’s announcement drew swift rebuke from advocates and former Fed officials.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called Trump’s attempt to fire Cook illegal, “the latest example of a desperate President searching for a scapegoat to cover for his own failure to lower costs for Americans. It’s an authoritarian power grab that blatantly violates the Federal Reserve Act, and must be overturned in court.”

Trump has repeatedly attacked the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, for not cutting its short-term interest rate, and even threatened to fire him.

Forcing Cook off the Fed’s governing board would provide Trump an opportunity to appoint a loyalist. Trump has said he would only appoint officials who would support cutting rates.

Powell signaled last week that the Fed may cut rates soon even as inflation risks remain moderate. Meanwhile, Trump will be able to replace Powell in May 2026, when Powell’s term expires. However, 12 members of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee have a vote on whether to raise or lower interest rates, so even replacing the chair might not guarantee that Fed policy will shift the way Trump wants.

GMU president’s lawyer calls DOE findings ‘legal fiction’

SUMMARY:

  • Attorney representing GMU’s says  findings part of an “incomplete” process
  • Former Maryland attorney general serving as President Gregory ‘s counsel
  • DOE says it requires an apology from Washington, among other measures, to settle civil rights violations

President Gregory Washington’s attorney called a federal investigation that found GMU in violation of civil rights “ fiction” and advised that Washington should not apologize, according to a letter sent Monday to the Fairfax university’s board.

Douglas F. Gansler, Maryland’s former state attorney general and now a partner at the Cadwalader law firm’s Washington, D.C., office, issued an 11-page letter to George Mason’s board of visitors, following the U.S. Department of Education’s finding that the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by “illegally using race and other immutable characteristics in university practices and policies, including hiring and promotion.” The Education Department cited Washington’s policies as biased toward of color and discriminatory against white employees.

The DOE gave the university 10 days to voluntarily settle, with Washington required to make a full statement “to all university students and employees that GMU will conduct all recruitment, hiring, promotion and tenure decisions in compliance with Title VI, and disseminate information to the campus community explaining how to submit a discrimination complaint.” The statement must also include a personal apology by the president.

Gansler, who served as Maryland’s attorney general from 2007 to 2015, wrote that the DOE Office of Civil Rights’ “investigation process has been cut short, and ‘findings’ have been made in spite of a very incomplete fact-finding process, including only two interviews with university academic deans.” Further, Gansler says, the office’s letter “contains gross mischaracterizations of statements made by Dr. Washington and outright omissions related to the two-plus-year DEI review process that the board of visitors and Dr. Washington engaged in.”

He adds that, “per OCR’s own findings, no job applicant has been discriminated against by GMU. … Therefore, it is a legal fiction for OCR to even assert or claim that there has been a Title VI or Title IX violation here.”

Gansler also says that the DOE’s resolution agreement, and “in particular its demand that Dr. Washington apologize to the Mason community for promoting unlawful discriminatory hiring practices, would be falsely admitting to conduct that did not occur and would open GMU to further legal risk in concurrent and future investigations by other agencies.”

That’s particularly relevant because the university is currently the target of three other federal investigations, including two by the U.S. Department of Justice’s civil rights division, over similar issues regarding what the argues is illegal DEI policy — although Washington and his allies say they have not violated federal civil rights law.

In his letter, Gansler takes the DOE’s charges one by one, arguing that Washington was not advocating that faculty should be hired on the basis of race and that the Office of Civil Rights “selectively excerpted” Washington’s statement to make it appear he had. The attorney also argued that Washington himself is rarely involved in the hiring of faculty, which is mostly handled at the school level, and that Washington was never interviewed by the Office of Civil Rights during its investigation, which was launched July 10 and ended after just more than a month.

Gansler concludes the letter by requesting that he be included in any discussion by the board “over how to respond to OCR’s demands.”

The university board, which has hiring and firing power over Washington, has been critical of Washington’s DEI policies, some of which were enacted in the months after George Floyd’s murder and nationwide racial justice protests. Washington and his supporters, including Gansler, have emphasized the fact that Virginia’s then-governor, Ralph Northam, directed state agencies and universities to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programs that allowed disenfranchised people more opportunity to compete for state contracts and jobs.

However, in the past few years, there has been serious backlash against DEI, including by , who appointed all of George Mason’s current board members, and President . Critics of the Trump administration have claimed the DOJ and DOE are using their powers to twist the meaning of the federal Civil Rights Act — initially enacted to prohibit anti-Black discrimination in the 1960s — to punish universities and drive out presidents with whom the administration disagrees.

In July, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan departed under pressure from the Trump administration, and George Mason supporters have said the same pattern is occurring with Washington.