Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner while considering case
the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, has temporarily allowed the Trump management to fire a Democrat-appointed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner, Rebecca Slaughter, while it considers the legal challenge surrounding her removal. Roberts stayed a lower court order that had permitted Slaughter to remain in her position as the Supreme Court reviews the administration’s request to suspend her reinstatement and hear the case fully.
This case represents the third recent instance where the Court has addressed the Trump administration’s efforts to remove self-reliant agency heads, despite a longstanding 1935 Supreme Court precedent in *Humphrey’s Executor v. United States*. That precedent limits the president’s power to remove FTC commissioners only “for cause” such as inefficiency, neglect, or malfeasance, rather than at will.
The Justice Department’s petition challenges this precedent, arguing that the removal restrictions violate the separation of powers and questioning the authority of lower courts to reinstate Slaughter. The petition seeks an expedited review by the Supreme Court,which rarely hears cases before thay have been fully examined by lower courts. The legal questions include whether Congress’s law protecting FTC commissioners from dismissal except “for cause” is constitutional and whether the lower court overstepped in reinstating Slaughter.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had previously denied the administration’s request to block Slaughter’s reinstatement, declining to overturn the *Humphrey’s Executor* precedent. Now, the Supreme Court will decide whether to take up the case for full argument, requiring approval from at least four justices.
this case is a important test of presidential authority versus independent agency protections and could reshape the balance of power regarding the removal of federal officials.
Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner while considering case
Chief Justice John Roberts allowed the Trump administration to fire a Democrat-appointed Federal Trade Commission member temporarily on Monday while the high court considers an application over the lawsuit regarding the commissioner’s firing.
Roberts temporarily halted the lower court order allowing FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter to remain in her position while the Supreme Court considers the Trump administration’s request to pause the reinstatement and take up the case for full arguments before it has worked its way through the lower courts. The chief justice also requested that Slaughter issue a response to the Justice Department’s application by next Monday at 4 p.m.
The case marks the third time in recent months that the Supreme Court has had to deal with an application regarding the firing of an independent agency head by the Trump administration. In the two previous cases, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to fire the independent agency heads despite the high court’s 1935 precedent in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.
In the Humphrey’s Executor ruling, the Supreme Court found that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt could not fire an FTC commissioner at his discretion and could only fire him “for cause,” as outlined in the law Congress passed authorizing the creation of the FTC.
Slaughter’s lawsuit challenging her firing presents a similar dispute to the 1935 case, with the Justice Department asking the high court in a petition last week to review the Slaughter case now as a direct challenge to the Humphrey’s Executor ruling.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer presented two questions for the high court to consider before judgment, including if the law establishing the FTC “violates the separation of powers by prohibiting the President from removing a member of the Federal Trade Commission except for ‘inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office’” and if the “district court’s order restoring respondent to office exceeded the court’s remedial authority.”
While the Supreme Court rarely takes cases before they have worked their way through lower courts, it has taken more of these cases in recent years. The request for the high court to hear the case before judgment also came amid several lower court rulings that have contradicted the Supreme Court’s emergency orders regarding the firing of independent agency heads.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO ALLOW FIRING OF FTC MEMBER AND HEAR FULL CASE
When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the Trump administration’s request to block the reinstatement of Slaughter pending appeal, the majority refused to “do the Supreme Court’s job of reconsidering [the] precedent” of Humphrey’s Executor.
Four of the nine justices must vote to grant certiorari for the high court to accept a petition to hear full arguments.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
