Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The Supreme Court has just placed once-independent agencies more strictly under presidential control. the The court ruled in Slaughter v. Trump By a 6-3 vote, President Donald Trump had the power to fire the Democratic commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission, even though doing so broke with decades of prior legal precedent at the time.
The justices officially killed that precedent, based on a 1935 Supreme Court case known as humphrey port, Which decided that independent agency commissioners could only be fired for cause. The ruling represents the latest expansion of presidential power, this time under a principle Unitary executive theoryIts members believe that the president ultimately has all the power over the executive branch.
“Although it is for the Senate to decide whether to confirm those with whom the President prefers to work, neither Congress nor the courts may burden him with those with whom he cannot work,” says the syllabus for the majority opinion, delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts. “Subordinates who exercise the authority of the President are subject to removal by him. Then, and only then, can they remain accountable to the President, and the President to the people.” framework Humphrey “They have not stood the test of time,” and “independent agencies are not “independent” in the sense that they are free from the President and therefore respond “solely to the people of the United States.”
in Separate provisionThe Supreme Court decided by a 5-4 vote that Trump could not fire Fed member Lisa Cook at this time, saying Congress had only “authorized the removal” from the agency “for cause.” in slaughter Ruling, he cited the Federal Reserve as an agency that may not fall under the same level of oversight as the Federal Trade Commission.
The ruling in the Slaughter case may not change much immediately, given that… Trump fired two Democratic commissioners from the agencyRebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya have been banned from returning while the case is ongoing. Slaughter continued to pursue the case while Bedoya eventually formally resigned from his position to take on new work. Republican President Andrew Ferguson has publicly described the agency as a direct part of the administration, calling it the “Trump-Vance Commission.” Tell employees to stop calling themselves independent In legal complaints.
In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that this opinion “distorts the structure of government”:
The result is a president who emerges far more powerful than ever before. However, it is a power not given to him by the people, Congress, or the Constitution. By granting the president this absolute power, the Court is upending its own precedent, misinterpreting our history, and doing away with any pretense of judicial humility.
The justices’ ruling strengthens executive authority over agencies previously considered independent, which also includes agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Election Commission, National Labor Relations Board and National Transportation Safety Board.
