In this episode, Christine Chabot of Marquette University Law School and Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School join to discuss Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s termination and the broader legal and constitutional issues it raises, such as the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve and the scope of the president’s removal power.
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Today’s episode was produced by Bill Pollock and Griffin Richie. It was engineered by Bill Pollock. Research was provided by Griffin Richie, Trey Sullivan, and Tristan Worsham.
Participants
Christine Chabot is a professor of law at the Marquette University Law School, specializing in constitutional and administrative law. She has written several important law review articles challenging the historical and originalist arguments for the unitary executive theory.
Michael McConnell is the Richard and Frances Mallery Professor and Faculty Director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School. Prior to Stanford, he served as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Michael is the author of several important books and articles on executive power, including The President Who Would Not Be King: Executive Power Under the Constitution.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. He is also professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. His newest book, Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle over Power in America, is out in October 2025.
Additional Resources
- Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness, National Constitution Center
- Trump v. Wilcox (2025)
- Collins v. Yellin (2021)
- Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2020)
- Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935)
- Christine Chabot, “Is the Federal Reserve Constitutional? An Originalist Argument for Independent Agencies,” Notre Dame Law Review (2020)
- Michael McConnell, “Opinion: Save the Federal Reserve’s independence by splitting the agency,”Washington Post (September 3, 2025)
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