Market Voices: Cook sues Trump, rail board firing, TransUnion hack

[FED federal reserve of USA sybol and sign.]
Bet_Noire

_Seeking Alpha's roundup of statements, announcements and remarks that could impact markets, sectors or individual stocks._

* Embattled Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook is suing President Trump for removing her from her post over allegations that she engaged in mortgage fraud.

"This case challenges President Trump’s unprecedented and illegal attempt to remove Governor Cook from her position which, if allowed to occur, would the first of its kind in the Board’s history," Cook's lawyers wrote in their complaint. [https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/28/lisa-cook-federal-reserve-lawsuit-00533253]

"It would subvert the Federal Reserve Act ("FRA"), which explicitly requires a showing of 'cause' for a Governor’s removal, which an unsubstantiated allegation about private mortgage applications submitted by Governor Cook prior to her Senate confirmation is not," the suit added.

The suit also said that Trump's actions violate Cook's "Fifth Amendment due process rights and her statutory right to notice and a hearing under the FRA." Cook is seeking immediate declaratory and injunctive relief to confirm her status as a board governor and "safeguard her and the Board’s congressionally mandated independence."

* Trump has also moved to fire Robert Primus, a Democrat serving on the Surface Transportation Board, which is currently reviewing a proposed merger between rail companies Norfolk Southern (NSC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NSC]) and Union Pacific (UNP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UNP]).

“Robert Primus did not align with the President’s America First agenda," the White House said in a statement, according to The Wall Street Journal [https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-fires-board-member-of-regulator-weighing-rail-merger-4b108713]. “The Administration intends to nominate new, more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short order," it added.

Primus told the WSJ via email that the administration's efforts to remove him were "deeply troubling and legally invalid." He added that he intends to continue serving on the board and would take legal action if he were blocked from doing so.

The WSJ noted that Primus was nominated for the board by Trump in 2020 and was the only member to oppose the 2023 merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.

* TransUnion (TRU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TRU]) disclosed that the data of 4.4 million customers was compromised in a recent hack, but that no credit information was accessed.

“Upon discovery, we quickly contained the issue, which did not involve our core credit database or include credit reports,” a TransUnion spokesperson told Bloomberg on Thursday [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-28/transunion-says-hackers-accessed-4-4-million-customers-data?srnd=homepage-americas&sref=Hh2p8mzs]. They added that the breach "involved unauthorized access to limited personal information for a very small percentage of U.S. consumers.”

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