Supreme Court appears sceptical over Fed firing
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2026
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
US President Donald Trump has dropped his tariff threat on Greenland, and the FT’s Derek Brower explains how Trump has navigated the World Economic Forum in Davos. Plus, EU lawmakers have postponed the ratification of a trade deal with the Mercosur group of South American economies, and US Supreme Court justices appeared sceptical of Donald Trump’s efforts to sack Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Greenland latest: Trump rules out using force but calls for ‘immediate negotiations’
Trump’s Greenland pivot puts Europe in a bind
Howard Lutnick heckled at Davos dinner as Christine Lagarde walks out
EU lawmakers vote to delay Mercosur trade pact over legal concerns
Supreme Court justices express scepticism over Donald Trump’s attempt to sack Fed’s Lisa Cook
Berkshire Hathaway considers selling $7.7bn stake in Kraft Heinz
Credit: World Economic Forum, Supreme Court of The United States
Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts
Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted and edited by Marc Filippino, and produced by Victoria Craig and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Kent Militzer. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:04.2 | Today is Thursday, January 22nd. |
| 0:06.4 | And this is your FT News Briefing. |
| 0:08.9 | Donald Trump says he has a future deal for Greenland, |
| 0:12.1 | and the Mercosur trade agreement has hit yet another snag. |
| 0:16.3 | Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't seem convinced the president can sack a member of the Federal Reserve. |
| 0:22.3 | It really does hit at the core, potentially, of how arguably the most important central bank in the world is going to be able to retain its independence. |
| 0:34.2 | I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:46.0 | Thank you. I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day. U.S. President Donald Trump is dropping his tariff threat against European countries who opposed his plan to take control of Greenland. |
| 0:53.7 | Those tariffs would have kicked in on |
| 0:55.2 | February 1st. Instead, Trump told CNBC that he has a, quote, concept of a deal that involves mineral |
| 1:01.9 | rights for the U.S. and the Arctic Island. U.S. stocks rose on the announcement. It came after an |
| 1:07.6 | eventful day at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Here to talk about that is the FT's US News editor, Derek Brower. |
| 1:13.7 | Hi, Derek. |
| 1:14.5 | Hi, Mark. |
| 1:15.3 | So, Derek, the past few days, Trump has been threatening to tariff NATO allies |
| 1:19.0 | if they don't get on board with America's plan to own Greenland. |
| 1:23.3 | How significant is it that he's gone back on that? |
| 1:26.6 | Well, I think it's such a head-spinning moment for foreign leaders. |
| 1:32.3 | This is kind of a classic of the Donald Trump genre. |
| 1:36.2 | He says something extreme. |
| 1:37.6 | People get very upset in this case because it seemed like he was willing to use force, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Forhecz Topher, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Forhecz Topher and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.