Treasury Secretary Bessent Criticizes Fed Chair Powell's Supreme Court Attendance
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's plan to attend a Supreme Court hearing on the dismissal of Fed Governor Lisa Cook, citing concerns over politicizing the Federal Reserve.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expressed disapproval of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's intention to attend a Supreme Court hearing concerning President Donald Trump's attempt to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bessent stated, "I actually think that's a mistake. Because if you're trying not to politicize the Fed, for the Fed chair to be sitting there, trying to put his thumb on the scale is a real mistake."
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Wednesday regarding the legality of President Trump's effort to dismiss Cook. Powell's planned attendance has raised concerns about maintaining the Federal Reserve's independence. Critics argue that such actions could jeopardize the central bank's autonomy.
Notably, Bessent himself attended a Supreme Court hearing in November 2025 concerning the legality of tariffs central to President Trump's economic policy. At that time, he emphasized the significance of the case by stating, "I am there to emphasize that this is an economic emergency."
The situation underscores ongoing debates about the Federal Reserve's independence and the appropriate roles of its officials in legal proceedings involving the institution.
Source
The New York TimesFact-checking
Fact-check the facts of the article using external sources and databases.