The Supreme Court today signaled that it would not allow Trump to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, as conservative justices sided with the Court’s three liberals. Allowing Trump to fire Cook based on flimsy evidence in the absence of a hearing, Justice Kavanaugh said, would “weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve.”

“What goes around comes around,” Kavanaugh added, warning U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer that if the Court upheld Trump, a future president might fire Trump appointees based on “trivial or inconsequential or old allegations that are very difficult to disprove.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, another conservative, pointed to the economic risk of a politicized Fed. She took issue with the administration’s claim that Cook was not even entitled to a hearing to answer Trump’s allegations. “Why are you afraid of a hearing?” Barrett pressed Sauer.