AP Source: Fed Chair Powell to attend Supreme Court argument on Cook case

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will attend the Supreme Court’s oral arguments Wednesday in a case involving the attempted firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook, an unusual show of support by the central bank chair.

The high court is considering whether President Donald Trump can fire Cook, an unprecedented attempt by the White House to remove an official appointed by former President Joe Biden. Powell plans to attend the Wednesday session, according to a person familiar with the matter.

It’s a much more public show of support than the Fed chair has previously shown Cook, who Trump first sought to fire in late August. But it follows Powell’s announcement last week that the Trump administration has sent subpoenas to the Fed, threatening an unprecedented criminal indictment of the Fed Chair.

Powell issued a video statement Jan. 11 condemning the subpoenas as “pretexts” for Trump’s efforts to force him to sharply cut the Fed’s key interest rate.