The US Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that President Donald Trump can fire leaders of independent agencies or commissions, ending a 90-year precedent that had limited executive power over such bodies. The 6-3 decision in Trump v. Slaughter drew dissents from Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Elena Kagan.
Case Background
The case originated from the White House's March 2025 firing of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member Rebecca Slaughter. Trump dismissed Slaughter via email, stating that her continued service as a commissioner was “inconsistent with [the] administration’s priorities.” Slaughter subsequently sued, arguing she was terminated without cause, and a lower court ordered her reinstatement.
In challenging the suit, the Trump administration urged the court to overturn Humphrey's Executor v. United States (1935), a landmark ruling that had limited presidential authority over independent agencies by affirming that the president unlawfully fired an FTC member.
Dissenting Opinion
Justice Sotomayor, joined by Kagan and Jackson, wrote a sharp dissent: “Today, this Court undoes centuries of political practice and concludes that all three branches of Government have been acting in open defiance of the Constitution all this time. Its conclusion is wrong.” The dissent further argued that “Congress may limit the causes for which the heads of Commissions like the FTC can be removed by the President,” and that the ruling grants the president “a power unknown even to the English Crown against which the Founders revolted.”
Impact on Federal Agencies
The FTC is responsible for enforcing consumer protection and antitrust laws. It comprises five bipartisan commissioners, with no more than three from the same party. Congress had imposed restrictions on hiring and firing to insulate the agency from partisan influence. Former government officials warned that overturning Humphrey's Executor would undermine agency independence. In an October 2025 Economic Policy Institute report, former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) chair Lauren McFerran and former NLRB official Celine McNicholas wrote: “Eliminating these removal protections would jeopardize all facets of agency independence, as agency leaders would be reluctant to engage in regulatory or enforcement actions ... without coordinating with the White House for fear of termination.”
Reaction from Trump
President Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, posting: “This Decision was long sought by United States Presidents, dating all the way back to the 1930s. It is such an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling, one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers.”
