Judge rejects bid by Trump ally to open Fed interest rate meeting to the public

Source: CNBC

Published Mon, Jul 28 2025 2:53 PM EDT Updated 5 Min Ago


A U.S. District Court judge on Monday rejected a bid to force the Federal Reserve to open to the public a meeting on setting interest rates this week. The decision found that the Federal Open Market Committee is not a government agency subject to the federal “Sunshine Act” requiring open meetings. The FOMC is set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday.

The decision came shortly after Judge Beryl Howell questioned whether the lawsuit by Azoria Capital seeking the open meeting is a publicity stunt to generate interest in the new investment fund. Howell, during a hearing on the request, noted that a court filing by Azoria noted that CEO James Fishback discussed the suit last week in an interview on a Fox Business show, “Mornings with Maria.”

“I do note it’s very unusual,” Howell said, referring to the mention of the interview. “I’ve never seen information like this in such a certification.” “And it made me think: Are you filing the ... lawsuit to generate publicity for the launch of this new fund?” Howell said in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C, where the judge was considering a request that she order the Federal Open Market Committee to hold its meeting set to begin Tuesday in public.

“I mean, the courts are very, very busy, and using the filing of a lawsuit as a business strategy to build publicity or generate interest in a new investment fund is not a particularly welcome development,” Howell said.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/28/fed-rate-powell-azoria-fund-lawsuit.html