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WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will attend the Supreme Court’s oral argument Wednesday in a case involving the attempted firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook, an unusual show of support by 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 Fed’s governing board. Powell plans to attend the high court’s Wednesday session, 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 has previously shown Cook. But it follows Powell’s announcement last week that the Trump administration has sent subpoenas to the Fed, threatening an unprecedented criminal indictment of the Fed Chair. Powell — appointed to the position by Trump in 2018 — appears to be casting off last year’s more subdued reponse to Trump’s repeated attacks on the central bank in favor of a more public confrontation. Powell issued a video statement Jan. 11 condemning the subpoenas as “pretexts” for Trump’s efforts to force him to sharply cut the Fed’s key interest rate. Powell oversaw three rate cuts late last year, lowering the rate to about 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, an allegation that Cook has denied. No charges have been made against Cook. She sued to keep her job, and the Supreme Court Oct. 1 issued a brief order allowing her to stay on the board while they consider her case. If Trump succeeds in removing Cook, he could appoint another person to fill her slot, which would give his appointees a majority on the Fed’s board and greater influence over the central bank’s decisions on interest rates and bank regulation. Source

A flag flies on a flag pin at Langston Golf Course in D.C. on Jan. 19, 2026.(WTOP/Jimmy Alexander) A flag flies on a flag pin at Langston Golf Course in D.C. on Jan. 19, 2026.(WTOP/Jimmy Alexander) Even though President Donald Trump’s administration terminated the National Links Trust’s lease overseeing D.C.’s three public golf courses, it did not stop Langston Golf Course from hosting its annual MLK Day of Service event. Dozens spent the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day pulling invasive plants, grasses and shrubs along the Anacostia River and Kingman Lake. Mike McCartin, co-founder of National Links Trust, told WTOP the organization hosts this event every year. “It’s always been a very popular, but chilly, time,” McCartin said. “It’s important to the golf course because these buffer zones along the lake and the river are full of invasive plant material.” One of invasive species being targeted is the bush honeysuckle. Volunteer Bianca Andre, who has a degree in environmental studies, said it needs to be removed because it’s the favorite food of an invasive insect — the spotted lanternfly. “We’re removing some of their habitats so hopefully we have less of an infestation next summer,” Andre said. While not everyone is as knowledgeable about invasive plant life as Andre, a lot of the volunteers did understand the importance of Langston Golf Course. “Langston is an incredible place with an incredible history. It was where Black golfers who were displaced from a course around the Lincoln Memorial in the 1920s worked for 10 years to get a new course built at a time when D.C. was segregated,” McCartin said. Bianca Hill, who was one the volunteers, told WTOP that while she just took up the sport last year, Langston has been part of her family’s life for a long time. “My uncles were caddies here. I just appreciate the history of how my people have overcome and have this awesome course and opportunity for not just African Americans, but everybody to have affordable golf,” Hill said. Source