Surprise! Paul Krugman Doesn’t Know Much About Law Either When it Comes to Firing Fed Governors
31st August 2025
New York Times has-been Paul Krugman had enough trouble trying to sell his bona fides as a serious economist without making himself look more foolish mucking about with issues beyond his imaginary expertise. Federal law as it pertained to the president’s ability to fire Federal Reserve governors is no exception. Krugman took to his unhinged Substack blog to kvetch August 26 over President Donald Trump’s so-called “illegal” act of firing Fed governor Lisa Cook on grounds pertaining to potential mortgage fraud.
“I’m not a lawyer,” wrote Krugman (no kidding), “but it seems clear that he does not have the right to summarily fire Fed officials, certainly on tissue-thin allegations of mortgage fraud before she even went to the Fed.” Apparently he’s never read Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act, which gave the President power to fire Fed governors if “cause” was shown. In fact, the Federal Reserve Act wasn’t even mentioned once throughout his entire piece.