Jerome Powell has nothing for you. On anything. Or at least not on anything you want to ask or know about.

That was the takeaway from Wednesday’s post-FOMC press conference, during which a visibly relaxed lame duck quacked at reporters in an amusingly casual cadence, perhaps indicative of a man who finally got it off his chest.

By that I mean Powell seemed relieved to have been afforded an opportunity to vent years of pent-up frustration with an antagonistic US president bent on strong-arming the Fed in pursuit of lower interest rates.

In serving the Fed with subpoenas this month, Donald Trump left Powell no choice but to defend the institution publicly. I dare say Powell was glad to have his hand forced. It must’ve felt good to tell Americans the truth — namely, that The White House is fabricating excuses to persecute and prosecute technocrats.

At this point, there isn’t much Trump can do to Powell unless he (Trump) intends to take his authoritarian shtick to the next level by arresting and jailing the head of the central bank, which I don’t see on the cards. Having berated, bullied and now subpoenaed Powell, Trump’s out of credible threats. Powell’s got nothing to lose, and his demeanor on Wednesday reflected that.

Asked about his decision to attend last week’s Supreme Court hearing in the Lisa Cook case, and also about Scott Bessent’s criticism of that decision, Powell called the case “perhaps the most important legal [development] in the Fed’s 113-year history.” Given that, it might’ve been harder to explain not attending than attending, Powell said. “I thought it was an appropriate thing to do and I did it.”

When Wall Street Journal “Fed whisperer” Nick Timiraos asked about the video statement Powell recorded this month in conjunction with his defense of the Fed’s independence, Powell said, “I’m simply going to refer you to that statement. I’m not going to expand on it.” Asked by Timiraos about the subpoenas, Powell said “I’ve got nothing for you.”

When Bloomberg’s Michael McKee asked if Powell’s made a decision about whether to stay on as governor once his term as Chair ends, Powell said, “I have nothing for you on that either.” “There’s a time and place for these questions,” he told McKee, but Wednesday’s press conference wasn’t that time, nor that place.

A reporter from the Financial Times wondered, “What’s driving the dollar lower?” Powell told her the Fed “doesn’t comment on the dollar.” Bessent’s Treasury “has oversight over the currency, so I have nothing for you,” he said. “We don’t talk about the dollar. Sorry.”

After stating the obvious with regard to the tweaked balance of risk assessment in the new statement — i.e., that recent data points to a stabilizing labor market, rendering the reference to downside job risks stale, particularly given that a still-robust expansion should manifest in more hiring — Powell said that dissents from Chris Waller and Stephen Miran notwithstanding, there was “broad support” for holding rates steady today. “We’re not trying to articulate a test for when to next cut rates,” he added.

Asked how he’ll handle and facilitate the leadership transition once Trump chooses a new Chair, Powell said, “I don’t have anything for you on that.”