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Graeme Wearden
Graeme Wearden tracks the latest world business, economic and financial news in our daily liveblog
Donald Trump’s treasury secretary has dismissed Denmark as “irrelevant” in his administration’s latest attack on a traditional US ally, as world leaders in Davos prepare for the president’s arrival in the Swiss ski resort.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Scott Bessent brushed aside claims that European investors, such as Denmark’s pension funds, might pull out of the market for US government debt in retaliation for Trump’s attempt to annex Greenland.
The size of Denmark’s investment in US Treasury bonds, like Denmark itself, is irrelevant.
It is less than $100m[£75m]. They’ve been selling treasuries for years. I’m not concerned at all.
He blamed the “fake news media led by the Financial Times” for amplifying a Deutsche Bank report that suggested Europe might be less willing to keep buying US government debt, amid the crisis over ownership of the Arctic island.
Bessent told reporters that the CEO of the German bank had called to say it does not stand by the findings of the report.
You can read the full report from Graeme Wearden here: Trump treasury secretary brands Denmark ‘irrelevant’ as Greenland row deepens
US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he would meet Russian president Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
Witkoff told CNBC in an interview, referring to Putin:
Well, look, we have to go meet him on Thursday.
But it’s the Russians who are asking for that meeting. I think that’s a significant statement on their part.
The Kremlin said last week it was preparing to welcome Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to Moscow for peace talks on Ukraine, but that no dates had been set.
Lauren Aratani
Lauren Aratani is a reporter for Guardian US
Trump’s bid to remove Cook last summer marked the first time in US history that a president fired a sitting Fed governor. She was appointed by Joe Biden in 2022, becoming the first woman of color to serve on the Fed’s board. Her term is set to be completed in 2038, as Fed governors serve at 14-year terms.
The administration has alleged that Cook committed mortgage fraud by misrepresenting multiple properties as her primary residence to get a better mortgage rate – an accusation which initially came from Bill Pulte, a close Trump ally and head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who has instigated similar investigations against others, including New York attorney general Letitia James and Democrat senator Adam Schiff.
Cook’s lawyers have accused the administration of “cherry-picking” information, and argued that Cook accurately listed her property on other loan documents. The discrepancy the administration is focused on is an “isolated notation”, they have said.
Beyond the accused mortgage fraud, Cook’s lawyers are arguing that Fed governors can only be fired “for cause”, and that the Fed governor was denied due process in violation of the US constitution’s fifth amendment.
You can read the full report from Lauren Aratani here: US supreme court to consider Trump’s bid to fire Lisa Cook from Fed board
US supreme court to consider Trump’s bid to fire Lisa Cook from Fed board
Hello and thank you for joining us on the US politics live blog.
The US supreme court will hear oral arguments over Donald Trump’s bid to fire a Federal Reserve governor on Wednesday morning, as his administration continues its extraordinary campaign for control over the central bank.
Trump tried to fire Lisa Cook in August over apparent discrepancies on mortgage applications his officials claim are evidence of fraud.
It was the first time in 112 years that a president had sought to remove a Fed governor.
A federal court blocked Cook’s removal, and she remains on the Fed’s rate-setting board. The Trump administration is waging an unprecedented battle with the Fed over interest rates, after policymakers defied the president’s repeated calls for drastic cuts.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DoJ) has been widely criticized this month for launching a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, the US central bank’s chair. While it is pursuing Powell over renovations to the Fed’s historic office buildings in Washington DC, he has argued he is being targeted for not “following the preferences of the president”.
Powell plans to attend Wednesday’s hearing at the supreme court in person, according to reports.
Trump as president has enjoyed wielding seemingly unlimited power from the executive branch, including allowing the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to fire tens of thousands of federal workers and defund programs across the government.
But this case is set to test his limits. Last spring, supreme court justices briefly mentioned the supreme court in an unrelated ruling around two labor officials Trump had fired. “The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States,” they wrote.
Legal experts believe that the note suggests, softly, that the court may give special protections to the Fed, and its officials, that are not granted to other government agencies.
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