Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case Monday that could have major implications for the independence of federal agencies that have long been shielded from White House protection.
The case, Trump v. Slaughter, stems from President Donald Trump’s March firing of Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and another Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The court is hearing arguments over whether Trump has the authority to fire members of the Federal Trade Commission, even though the law says commissioners can only be fired for “inefficiency, dereliction of duty or malfeasance in their duties.”
Ms. Slaughter sued Trump after she was ousted for being “inconsistent with the administration’s priorities.”
A lower court ruled that Ms. Slaughter was unlawfully fired from the FTC, leading the Trump administration to appeal to the Supreme Court. The conservative-majority court issued an emergency order 6-3 in September upholding her firing pending the case.
Trump believes the president should have full control over government agencies, even those created by Congress and immune from presidential interference.
In 1914, the Federal Trade Commission was created to protect the public from deceptive business practices and unfair competition, and Congress passed a law stating that the president could remove a commissioner only for good cause and that no more than three members of the same political party should serve on the five-member commission.
Trump appointed Ms. Slaughter in 2018 to fill a Democratic position at the Federal Trade Commission, and she was later reappointed by former President Joe Biden.
Similar firing rules exist at other independent agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board.
The law was tested in 1935 when President Franklin Roosevelt attempted to remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, leading the Supreme Court to uphold the independence of certain federal agencies such as the Trade Commission.
In the 90-year-old ruling, known as “Humphrey’s Executor,” the court found that while the president has the ability to remove executive officers without cause, that power does not apply to agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, which are “neither political nor administrative but primarily quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative.”
The Supreme Court will also hear a separate case involving whether Trump has the authority to remove Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
