WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission despite a federal law that is intended to restrict the White House’s power to control the agency.
Trump fired both Democratic commissioners on the five-person FTC in March, Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya.
But the Supreme Court, whose majority has been skeptical of the concept of independent federal agencies that are not subject to presidential control, has undermined such protections in recent years in a series of cases involving other agencies.
This year, Trump has also sought to remove members of other independent federal agencies, which the Supreme Court has allowed.
Slaughter and Bedoya both served as Democratic members, although Trump originally appointed Bedoya in 2018.
WASHINGTON — Despite a federal law designed to limit the White House’s authority over the Federal Trade Commission, the Supreme Court on Monday permitted President Donald Trump to dismiss a member of the commission.
A judge’s decision to reinstate Rebecca Kelly Slaughter was temporarily blocked by the court through an order issued by Chief Justice John Roberts while the case is still pending.
Although the order did not explicitly state how the court would respond to the Trump administration’s urgent request for more power to fire independent agency members without reason, it did indicate that the court would probably grant it.
The lower court decisions caused Slaughter to temporarily return to the agency, but she said in a statement that she would “see this case through to the end” whether the court allowed Trump to remove her while the case was pending.
“It became even clearer to me in the week I was back at the FTC that we desperately need the accountability and transparency Congress intended to have at bipartisan independent agencies,” she continued.
Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, two Democratic commissioners on the five-member FTC, were fired by Trump in March. Although Bedoya eventually left the case, both contested the move. Since the case has progressed through the courts, Slaughter is currently listed on the agency’s website as a serving commissioner.
The terminations directly contradict a 1935 Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey’s Executor v. United States that upheld restrictions Congress placed on the president’s power to dismiss FTC commissioners without reason in order to shield the agency from political pressure.
Under the 1914 law that set up the agency, members can only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. “.”.
Citing the 1935 decision, a federal judge decided in favor of Slaughter in July. The U. A. A similar conclusion was reached by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
However, in a number of cases involving other agencies in recent years, the Supreme Court—whose majority has expressed skepticism about the idea of independent federal agencies that are not under presidential control—has weakened these safeguards.
The removal restrictions, according to Trump administration attorneys, illegally restrict the president’s authority to govern the executive branch as that authority is outlined in Article 2 of the Constitution.
Trump has also attempted to fire employees of other independent federal agencies this year, and the Supreme Court has granted his request.
There are five commissioners on the FTC, each with a seven-year term, and no more than three of them are from the same party. Trump first appointed Bedoya in 2018, but both Slaughter and Bedoya were Democratic members. She was reappointed in 2024 by President Joe Biden.
