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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell declined to answer three consecutive questions about politics at a press conference Wednesday. It’s typical of the matter-of-fact persona he’s built for himself over the years. But near the end of the long Q&A, Mr. Powell had a remorse and let the cat out of the bag.

When CNN’s Matt Egan asked what wisdom he would give to his successor, Powell, whose term ends in mid-May, the Fed chairman paused, laughed, and said he had three pieces of advice.

It was a very humane and thoughtful response. Mr. Powell spoke eloquently about the legacy he hopes to leave behind at the institution where he served for 14 years (including nine as chairman). On Wednesday, he summed it up as a commitment to “public welfare” and staying out of politics.

The Trump administration’s attacks on the Fed threaten the Fed’s independence, which Mr. Powell holds dear. He said the Fed must maintain its independence to maintain its credibility to serve the public as it strives to keep unemployment and inflation low.

The stakes are so high that Fed leaders saw fit to attend oral arguments in Fed Director Lisa Cook’s Supreme Court case challenging Mr. Trump’s attempt to oust him. For Mr. Powell, none of this is political, but rather a fight over the Fed’s independence.

Over the past year, President Donald Trump and his allies have waged a relentless barrage of attacks on the Fed, arguing that it has been slow to lower borrowing costs. But it wasn’t just badmouthing. The administration is aggressively arguing in the nation’s highest court why Cook, who was appointed by then-President Joe Biden, should be removed from office.

Powell’s reflections seemed aimed directly at the president, although he never mentioned Trump or his actions. After passing through the Fedspeak translation engine, it looks like this:

President Trump’s attacks on the Fed are now backfiring, as Mr. Powell has made a career-defining effort to maintain the Fed’s independence. Instead, they rallied support for the agency’s political independence, which the president had long sought to undermine.

President Trump’s campaign against the Fed took a shocking turn earlier this month, when federal prosecutors investigated portions of Chairman Powell’s Congressional testimony from last year, which referred to ongoing renovations to the central bank’s Washington, D.C., headquarters.

The Fed chief fired back at the administration in a stunning video released on January 12, saying the federal investigation is a “pretext” to destroy the Fed’s independence and usher in a world where “monetary policy is dictated by political pressure and blackmail.”

On Wednesday, the day the Fed announced it would keep interest rates on hold, Powell declined to comment further on his remarks about President Trump, but reiterated that the Fed’s independence “serves the people well.”

As Powell indicated Wednesday, several members of Congress, including some Republicans, expressed support for him. But more broadly, he talked about how the Fed must operate beyond Chairman Powell’s term. Current and former Fed officials are also confronting President Trump’s efforts to undermine the Fed.

“Everyone supports the Fed’s independence,” said Subhadra Rajappa, head of research at financial services firm Société Générale. “I’m not surprised there was overwhelming support. That’s exactly the affirmation of Fed independence that the market needs.”

Some Republicans support Powell and the Fed

Following the central bank chief’s emergency video statement, several senators from both parties expressed support for Mr. Powell and the Fed. This is important because several of them serve on the Senate Banking Committee, which will consider President Trump’s nomination to replace Powell.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the committee, said in a statement: “Until this legal matter is fully resolved, we oppose confirmation of any nominee for the Fed, including any future Fed chairman vacancies.”

He was joined by two other Senate Republicans who don’t serve on the Banking Committee, Sen. Lisa Murcausi of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who both argued that the Fed should remain independent.

Still, other Republicans, even some of Mr. Trump’s closest allies, have not sided with the administration, and have instead been more subdued in their defense of Mr. Powell. For example, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, a Republican on the Banking Committee, told reporters, “I would be stunned if he had done anything wrong.”

Another Republican committee member, Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, said Mr. Powell’s job performance was “poor,” but added, “But I don’t think he’s a criminal.”

Expressions of support from former policymakers and bureaucrats

Fed officials have always supported the Fed’s ability to set interest rates independent of policy, simply pointing to years of evidence from academic research that independent central banks often produce better economic outcomes.

But some current and former officials are questioning why the U.S. central bank must continue to control interest rates without considering the president’s demands.

Earlier this month, Cook, Powell, Fed Chairman Michael Barr and former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke were among those in attendance when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the landmark case brought by Fed Director Lisa Cook, who is suing Trump’s attempt to remove her from her role as a monetary policy official over unsubstantiated allegations of mortgage fraud.

Asked Wednesday why he was attending, Powell said the Fed’s independence was at risk.

“This case is probably the most important case in the Fed’s 113-year history,” Powell said. “When I thought about it, I thought it might be difficult to explain why I wasn’t present.”

Current Fed officials have tended to avoid mentioning Mr. Trump’s attacks, but some have since publicly expressed support for Mr. Powell, including New York Fed President John Williams and St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musallem.

Shortly after the Fed chief released the video, a joint statement signed by all living former Fed chairmen, Bernanke, Janet Yellen, and Alan Greenspan, expressed support for Powell’s defiance of President Trump.

The letter, which was also signed by other former government officials, including former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, called the federal investigation “an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine independence.”

“Monetary policy is conducted in this way in emerging markets with weak institutions, with very negative effects on inflation and broader economic functioning,” they write.

“This law has no place in America, where our greatest strength is the rule of law, the foundation of our economic success.”