Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday lodged a pointed attack against Fed Chair Jerome Powell – accusing him of putting “his thumb on the scale” if he attends upcoming Supreme Court arguments over President Trump’s attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

Powell, who is named as a defendant in Cook’s case seeking to block Trump from ousting her over mortgage fraud allegations, is reportedly planning to attend Supreme Court arguments on Wednesday.

“I actually think that’s a mistake,” Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

“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, that’s a mistake.”

Bessent himself sat in the front row of the gallery during Supreme Court arguments in November about Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs, alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and top trade negotiator Jamieson Greer.

In a different line of attack on Tuesday, the treasury chief took aim at Powell for not meeting with federal prosecutors last month before they issued subpoenas related to the criminal probe of the Fed’s headquarters project.

Bessent also blasted Powell for asset purchases made around the pandemic that resulted in huge losses and for the resignation of “four to six” senior Fed officials related to compliance issues.

“If that happened at a Wall Street firm, the CEO would be out,” Bessent said.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire Powell, bashing the chairman for not lowering interest rates fast enough – but Bessent has previously appeared to take a more neutral stance on Powell.

During a November speech at a US-Saudi investment forum, Trump even insinuated that Bessent had talked him out of firing Powell and let him serve out the remainder of his term, which expires in May.

Trump’s decision on his choice for the next Federal Reserve chairman could come as soon as next week, Bessent said Tuesday.

The president has narrowed the race down to four potential candidates, including Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Fed Governor Christopher Waller and BlackRock exec Rick Rieder.

“We’ve had substantial conversations about this. We’ve run a process that started in September – 11 very strong candidates. We’re now down to four candidates. The president has personally met with all of them, and it’s going to be his decision,” Bessent said.

Powell could choose to stay on the board through 2028. He has so far declined to comment on whether he will remain a Fed governor.

Last week, Powell revealed that he’s under criminal investigation for allegedly lying during congressional testimony last summer over the Fed’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation in DC.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said in a stunning video statement.

“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions – or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”

Trump first nominated Powell to lead the Fed at the start of his first presidential term.

Last week, Warsh surged ahead of Hassett on prediction markets betting on the next Fed chairman after Trump said he’d like to keep Hassett in his current role as an economic adviser.

Trump also ruled out Bessent for the role “because he wants to stay where he is.”

Markets had placed better odds on Hassett for weeks. While Trump said he’d like to keep Hassett in his current job, it’s not impossible for him to win the nomination.

After Fed Governor Adriana Kugler unexpectedly resigned last summer, Trump tapped Stephen Miran, then a top White House economic adviser, to fill the role. Miran refused to fully resign from his White House job, instead taking an unpaid leave of absence.