Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday offered his first explanation into his controversial decision to attend Fed Governor Lisa Cook’s Supreme Court hearing, sharing a belief that its the most important legal case the central bank has ever seen because of its impact on independence.
“That case is perhaps the most important legal case in the Fed’s 113-year history,” Powell said Wednesday during his post-Fed meeting press conference. “As I thought about it, I thought it might be hard to explain why I didn’t attend.”
Powell last week attended opening arguments in the case centered on whether President Donald Trump can fire Cook, a decision seen by many as having broad implications about whether a president can remove central bank officials to essentially gain control. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Powell’s decision to attend a “mistake” in an interview with CNBC last week, saying the Fed chair was politicizing the case.
Powell also noted that former Fed Chair Paul Volcker “famously” went to a Supreme Court case. That showed Powell there was precedent for his attendance, he said.
The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 under President Woodrow Wilson, according to the bank’s website.
