As President Donald Trump's push to carry out the first-ever firing of a sitting Federal Reserve governor takes center stage at the U.S. Supreme Court, the stakes couldn't be higher: nothing less than control of the central bank is on the line. "The court has expressed, both in argument and in writing, that it sees the Fed as different from other agencies," said Goodwin partner Jordan Bock, who is a member of the firm's Appellate and Supreme Court practice. "There are debates on the court about how justifiable that is as a legal matter," she added, but there has been a consistent throughline of wanting to "figure out some way to carve out the Fed. Depending on how the court resolves all those questions, it could be really significant for the independence of the Federal Reserve and the strength of its removal protections." The fate of Powell, the Fed chair, may also cast a shadow over the proceedings. Unlike with Cook, Trump has not sought to actually remove Powell from his post, and Bock said it is unlikely that the justices will bring up the investigation at oral arguments. But the scrutiny of Powell could nevertheless color perceptions of Cook's case, she said. "Everyone will have in mind that there is, to some extent, a bigger fight looming over how much control the president has over the Federal Reserve and that Cook is almost like the test case for that, depending on what the president decides to do with respect to Jerome Powell down the line," Bock said.
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