The Federal Reserve won a legal victory Monday when a federal judge denied a request for a temporary restraining order compelling the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to open its rate deliberations to the public starting Tuesday and Wednesday.
The request came as part of a lawsuit filed by money manager Azoria Capital against FOMC Chair Jerome Powell and other central bank policymakers in a Washington, D.C., federal court.
The lawsuit alleged the Fed was violating a 1976 federal law by keeping its monetary policy meetings behind closed doors.
Azoria Capital is led by CEO James Fishback, who is close to the Trump administration and served as an adviser to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
It argued that the Fed, by keeping its meetings closed to the public, was in violation of the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976, passed after President Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal roiled Washington and led to calls for increased transparency in the US government.
The act requires federal agencies to keep their meetings open to the public.
But a federal judge in Washington, D.C., Beryl Howell, ruled that the Sunshine Act does not apply to the FOMC because the FOMC is not an agency and is instead a “composite of several parts.”
The FOMC is comprised of Fed governors, who are appointed by the president, and regional Fed presidents, who are appointed by banks in their respective districts.
Fishback, Azoria’s CEO, noted in a statement after the hearing that the judge did not dismiss its entire case, “meaning Azoria’s case for transparency and accountability from the Federal Reserve will proceed.”
“Azoria looks forward to continuing our case and fighting for transparency and accountability for all Americans.”
The lawsuit filed last week was one of several headaches for the Fed as the White House continues to pressure the central bank, highlighted by an unusual presidential visit to the central bank for a tour of the $2.5 billion refurbishment of its National Mall buildings.
Trump and other administration officials have criticized the project for its cost overruns.
Trump and other top White House officials have also been hammering Powell for months over his wait-and-see rate stance and his insistence that more time is needed to assess how the president’s tariffs will affect the path of inflation.
Traders widely expect the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee to defy Trump and once again keep rates unchanged this Wednesday as the FOMC has for every other meeting so far in 2025. The market expects the first cut of 2025 to happen on Sept. 17, the third-to-last meeting of the year.
