Powell warns Lisa Cook's Supreme Court case could be most consequential legal threat in Fed’s history
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Wednesday that a Supreme Court showdown over sitting Fed governor Lisa Cook could have far-reaching consequences for the central bank’s independence and the U.S....
By Fox News · Fox News
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Wednesday that a Supreme Court showdown over sitting Fed governor Lisa Cook could have far-reaching consequences for the central bank’s independence and the U.S. economy. "I would say that that case is perhaps the most important legal case in the Fed's 113-year history. As I thought about it, it might have been hard to explain why I didn’t attend," Powell told reporters Wednesday at the Federal Reserve . "Paul Volcker famously attended a Supreme Court case in, I guess, 1985 or so, so there is precedent," Powell said, referring to the former Federal Reserve chair who served under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. POWELL REVEALS WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO STEP DOWN FROM THE FED AS PRESSURE MOUNTS Last week, the nation's highest court heard oral arguments for two hours on whether President Donald Trump has the authority to remove Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. The court is expected to issue a ruling in the case by summer. Cook's legal fight traces back to late August, when Trump said he was firing her from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He alleged she misrepresented information related to a trio of mortgages she obtained before joining the central bank. Cook has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. TRUMP VS THE FEDERAL RESERVE: HOW THE CLASH REACHED UNCHARTED TERRITORY She sued Trump in federal court in Washington, D.C., to block her removal. On Sept. 9, a district court judge barred Trump from firing her while the case proceeds, a decision later upheld by a federal appeals court. Her ascent to the Federal Reserve was historic from the start. Appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2022, she became the first Black woman to serve as a Fed board governor, the seven-member panel that sets national interest rates and oversees the banking system. Now, she stands at the center of an even more consequential moment, as Trump seeks to fire her — a step that would be unpreced…