US SC overturns 91-year precedent, strengthens Trump's firing power
What's the story
The United States Supreme Court has overturned a 91-year-old precedent, granting President Donald Trump more power over independent agencies. In a 6-3 ruling, the court upheld Trump's March 2025 firing of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. Since the creation of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 1914, Congress has held that commissioners can only be fired for "inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office." But Slaughter was only told her "continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with...Administration's priorities."
Opinion divide
Chief Justice defends ruling, liberal justices dissent
Chief Justice John Roberts defended the ruling, writing that "subordinates who exercise the President's power are subject to removal by him." He stressed that this ensures accountability to the President and ultimately to the people. However, three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor calling it "grievously wrong." She argued it gives the President a power unknown even to the English Crown, elevating him above coequal branches of government.
Agency control
End of bipartisan representation on FTC
The ruling has far-reaching implications for the FTC and other federal agencies. It effectively makes FTC commissioners at-will employees of the President and ends Congress's requirement for bipartisan representation on the commission. This could allow future presidents to remove opposing party commissioners, as Trump did by firing two Democratic FTC commissioners last year. The decision stands to impact roughly two dozen multi-member agencies across the government apart from the FTC.
Independence questioned
Questions raised about independence of other federal agencies
The ruling also raises questions about the independence of other federal agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Consumer Product Safety Commission. These agencies were created with some degree of independence from the White House, following the Supreme Court's decision in the 1935 Humphrey's Executor, which laid the groundwork for certain agencies across the executive branch to enjoy a degree of independence. They oversee vast swaths of American life, including labor disputes, federal employee rights, workplace discrimination, among others.
Constitutional debate
Court allowed Lisa Cook to keep her job
While the Supreme Court dramatically expanded presidential power, the independence of the Federal Reserve remains intact for the time being. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, can remain in her job until the lower-courts dispute is settled. The court allowed Cook to keep her job as she battles the Republican president's attempt to remove her over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she denies.