Supreme Court to Hear Case on President’s Authority to Dismiss Agency Head
The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for December 8 regarding President Trump’s ability to remove the head of an independent agency without justification. This legal struggle could significantly impact executive power and possibly overturn long-standing legal precedents.
The case revolves around Trump’s dismissal of Rebecca Slaughter, the sole Democrat on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who, along with another Democratic commissioner, was fired in March. The latter has since resigned.
Earlier this year, Slaughter initiated a lawsuit to halt her ousting, leading a lower court to temporarily restore her position at the FTC while the legal proceedings unfold.
In September, the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which decided to hear the case, thereby setting aside the previous court’s ruling that had reinstated Slaughter, allowing Trump to proceed with her removal in the meantime.
Many observers interpret the court’s decision to take up the case as a signal that the justices are prepared to reassess the precedent set in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, decided in 1935, which prevented the president from firing heads of independent regulatory agencies without cause, but only in specific situations.
In their briefs, both sides have been directed to explore two critical points: whether the FTC commissioners’ removal protections infringe upon the separation of powers, and if such protections should be overturned, along with whether federal courts can intervene against a removal through equitable or statutory measures.
This case comes amidst numerous lawsuits filed this year by other Democratic officials dismissed by Trump, including National Labor Relations Board Commissioner Gwynn Wilcox and Merit System Protection Board Commissioner Cathy Harris, whose terminations were also abrupt.
The Supreme Court had previously granted Trump’s requests to remove Wilcox and Harris while challenges were still underway in lower courts, but this time, it did not reference the Humphrey’s Executor precedent in its unsigned order.
Additionally, the Supreme Court plans to hear arguments in another notable case where Trump attempted to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, with those oral arguments expected in January. How the court approaches Slaughter’s case may provide insights into its forthcoming handling of Trump’s actions regarding Cook.
