Jerome Powell, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve System, George P. Hoover of the Hoover Institution. Schultz Memorial Lecture in Stanford, California, USA, Monday, December 1, 2025.
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell plans to attend oral arguments on Wednesday Supreme court In the event of a dispute over the power of the President Donald Trump Firing the governor of the Fed Lisa Cooka person familiar with the situation told CNBC on Monday.
Powell’s planned appearance comes as the Fed chairman faces a multibillion-dollar criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington. renovation of the central bank headquarters and his testimony to Congress on this project.
Associated Press first reported Powell’s plans.
Powell’s personal participation in oral arguments in such a situation is unusual.
But the question of whether the president can fire a Fed governor in the way Trump has done is seen as potentially existential at the central bank.
Trump said in late August he would fire Cook from the seven-member Fed board, citing allegations of mortgage fraud related to two homes he owned.
Cook denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime.
He sued Trump in US federal court, trying to block his removal from office.
On Sept. 9, a U.S. District Court judge there blocked Trump from firing him while the lawsuit continues. A federal appeals court soon upheld the order.
In a filing with the Supreme Court, the Justice Department called the lower court rulings blocking Cook’s impeachment “another instance of unlawful judicial interference in the office of the President.”
“removal power” is here an interference with the President’s power to remove members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for cause.”
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