WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will attend Supreme Court oral argument Wednesday in a case involving the attempted firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a rare show of support from the central bank chair.

The high court is considering whether President Donald Trump can fire Cook, as he said he would do in late August, in an unprecedented attempt to remove one of the seven members of the Federal Reserve’s governing board. Powell plans to attend Wednesday’s session of the high court, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It’s a much more public show of support than the Fed chair had previously shown Cook. But this follows Powell’s announcement last week that the Trump administration sent subpoenas to the Federal Reserve, threatening an unprecedented criminal charge against the Fed chair. Powell, appointed to the post by Trump in 2018, appears to be scrapping last year’s more moderate response to Trump’s repeated attacks on the central bank in favor of a more public confrontation.

Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook
Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Powell issued a video statement on Jan. 11 condemning the subpoenas as “pretexts” for Trump’s efforts to force him to slash the Federal Reserve’s key interest rate. Powell oversaw three rate cuts late last year, bringing them down to around 3.6%, but Trump has argued it should be as low as 1%, a position few economists support.

The Trump administration has accused Cook of mortgage fraud, a charge Cook has denied. No charges have been filed against Cook. She sued to keep her job, and on Oct. 1 the Supreme Court issued a brief order allowing her to remain on the board while they consider her case.

If Trump succeeds in ousting Cook, he could name another person to fill his seat, giving his appointees a majority on the Federal Reserve board and greater influence over the central bank’s decisions on interest rates and banking regulation.