This is a much more public show of support than Powell has given so far, but it comes after President Trump threatened the Fed chair with criminal charges.
Published January 19, 2026
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will attend Supreme Court oral arguments regarding the attempted removal of Fed Director Lisa Cook, an unusual show of support for a central bank chairman.
The high court is considering whether President Donald Trump can fire Cook, as he said he would do in late August, in an unprecedented attempt to remove one of the seven members of the Federal Reserve’s board. Mr. Powell is scheduled to appear in Superior Court on Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
This is a far more public show of support than Fed Chairman Cook has ever expressed. But this follows Powell’s announcement last week that the Trump administration would subpoena the Fed and threaten unprecedented criminal prosecution against the Fed chairman. Powell, who was appointed to the job by President Trump in 2018, appears to be abandoning last year’s more restrained response to Trump’s repeated attacks on the central bank in favor of a more public confrontation.
Powell released a video statement on January 11, calling the subpoena a “pretext” for President Trump’s efforts to force a deep cut in the Fed’s key interest rate. Mr. Powell oversaw three rate cuts late last year, bringing rates down to about 3.6%, but Mr. Trump has said they should be as low as 1%, a position few economists support.
The Trump administration has accused Cook of mortgage fraud, an allegation Cook has denied. No charges have been filed against Mr. Cook. She sued to keep her job, and the Supreme Court issued a brief order on Oct. 1 allowing her to remain on the board while it considers her case.
If Mr. Trump succeeds in firing Mr. Cook, he could appoint someone else to his post, giving his appointee a majority on the Fed board and greater influence over the central bank’s decisions on interest rates and bank regulation.
