{"id":2465674,"date":"2025-07-23T12:30:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T16:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-faces-continued-legal-fights-over-firing-independent-agency-heads\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T12:32:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T16:32:15","slug":"trump-faces-continued-legal-fights-over-firing-independent-agency-heads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-faces-continued-legal-fights-over-firing-independent-agency-heads\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump faces continued legal fights over firing independent agency heads"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-faces-continued-legal-fights-over-firing-independent-agency-heads%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2465674&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses ongoing legal battles resulting from President donald Trump&#8217;s efforts to remove heads of independent federal agencies.As returning to office, Trump and his governance have aggressively sought to reshape the executive branch by firing numerous officials, including leaders of independent agencies. These actions have triggered multiple lawsuits, with some cases reaching the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court has temporarily allowed certain firings to proceed but has not yet ruled on the core legal questions involved. The Court&#8217;s 1935 precedent in *Humphrey&#8217;s Executor v. United States* &#8211; which restricts presidents&#8217; power to remove independent agency officials except &#8220;for cause&#8221; &#8211; may be reconsidered as the legal battles continue. <\/p>\n<p>Recent lower court rulings have ordered the reinstatement of some fired officials, with ongoing appeals and stays pending. Despite Trump&#8217;s publicly expressed frustration with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, experts and the Court suggest firing Powell would face significant legal obstacles. <\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court is being urged by the Trump administration to hear the full merits of these cases soon to provide clarity and address the uncertainty affecting the functioning of independent agencies. Simultaneously occurring, the Court&#8217;s emergency docket remains busy with related applications, indicating the contentious nature of presidential authority over independent federal officials.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump faces continued legal fights over firing independent agency heads<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2179466\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&lsquo;s bids to replace a litany of independent agency heads have prompted legal challenges from the Left, which could end up with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Supreme Court\">Supreme Court<\/a> revisiting a 90-year-old precedent related to the president&rsquo;s firing power.<\/p>\n<p>Since Trump returned to the White House in January, the president and his administration have aggressively worked to reshape the executive branch through layoffs and firings of officials ranging from rank-and-file federal workers to agency leaders. Independent agency heads have been a key target, leading to battles in the courtroom, some of which have already landed on the Supreme Court&rsquo;s doorstep.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3464932\/conservatives-lawsuits-trump-administration-trade-higher-education-legal-ethics\/\">When the Right sues the Right: Why conservative lawyers are challenging Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3473772\/daniel-cameron-supreme-court-transgender-ideology-cases-precedent\/\">Daniel Cameron talks precedent set by Supreme Court transgender ideology cases<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3470220\/trump-legal-wins-muddled-lower-court-losses\/\">Trump legal wins muddled by continued lower court losses<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Continued lower court rulings against Trump<\/h2>\n<p>While nearly a dozen lawsuits have been filed by independent executive agency leaders over their removals, none have yet made it to the Supreme Court on their merits. The Supreme Court has allowed a pair of firings to go forward while litigation continues via the emergency docket, and the justices are currently considering a similar bid to allow a firing to go into effect while that legal battle unfolds.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3420113\/supreme-court-firings-independent-agency-heads-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"issued a stay\">issued a stay<\/a> of two lower court orders regarding the firings of Gwynne Wilcox of the NLRB and Cathis Harris of the MSPB. The justices ruled 6-3 that the firings could proceed while the cases are litigated in lower courts, finding the burden to the president of keeping them in place outweighs the harm caused by removing them in the interim.<\/p>\n<p>The ruling was not on the merits of the case, but it did indicate the justices are at least receptive to the president&rsquo;s argument that he has the authority to remove the officials.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow it to proceed with firing three Democratic-appointed members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The high court has yet to rule on the application, but could do so in the coming days.<\/p>\n<p>Another pair of bids to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-notches-legal-wins-after-series-of-setbacks\/\" title=\"... notches legal wins after series of setbacks\">fire independent agency heads<\/a> has also hit recent roadblocks.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, a U.S. district judge ruled the Trump administration must restore Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat appointee, back to her role. The ruling was paused by an appeals court panel temporarily Monday while it hears from both sides on whether to issue a more permanent stay pending appeal. If the appeals court panel declines to issue a stay, that case could make its way to the Supreme Court&rsquo;s emergency docket.<\/p>\n<p>Another federal judge in Washington, D.C., ordered on Tuesday that two fired Democrat-appointed members of the National Credit Union Administration, Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, be reinstated to their positions. The Trump administration has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and has requested a stay pending appeal in the district court.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bid to oust Federal Reserve chair unlikely to succeed<\/h2>\n<p>One executive agency head whom Trump has discussed firing, but who could be uniquely protected, is Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.<\/p>\n<p>Trump appointed Powell during his first term in 2018, and former President Joe Biden appointed him to another four-year term in 2022. Despite the Fed chairman originally being a Trump appointee, the president has expressed his frustration over Powell&rsquo;s handling of interest rates. Trump has branded Powell as &ldquo;Mr. Too Late&rdquo; and has mused about firing him, but has said he ultimately will not do so.<\/p>\n<p>If Trump attempted to fire Powell, a legal challenge would almost certainly ensue, and the Supreme Court has indicated it would not allow the firing to take effect in the interim.<\/p>\n<p>When the high court allowed for the firings of Wilcox and Harris to proceed, the majority of justices noted in their opinion that they would not have come to the same conclusion if the case had been about the removal of Federal Reserve officials.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States,&rdquo; the majority wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Powell&rsquo;s term is set to end in 2026, and Trump told reporters Tuesday that &ldquo;he&rsquo;s going to be out pretty soon anyway&rdquo; as he backed away from previous suggestions he would fire the Federal Reserve chairman.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Supreme Court could soon hear merits of independent agency firings<\/h2>\n<p>The Supreme Court&rsquo;s long-standing precedent on firing independent agency heads in the executive branch goes back to its 1935 decision in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3343081\/humphreys-executor-supreme-court-precedent-trump-wants-overturned\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Humphrey&rsquo;s Executor v. United States\">Humphrey&rsquo;s Executor v. United States<\/a><\/em>. The high court ruled at that time that then-President Franklin Roosevelt could not fire an FTC commissioner and that the commissioner could only be fired &ldquo;for cause,&rdquo; as a law passed by Congress authorizing the creation of the FTC said.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >1935 ruling insulated independent agency heads<\/a> for decades from getting fired by presidents, but Trump&rsquo;s actions have pushed the limits of the precedent and teed up the high court to revisit it.<\/p>\n<p>When the justices allowed Trump to fire Wilcox and Harris in the interim via the emergency docket order, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/josh-hammer-will-the-conservative-momentum-at-the-supreme-court-continue-this-term\/\" title=\"Josh Hammer: Will the Conservative Momentum at the ... Continue This Term?\">majority opinion explicitly stated<\/a> it was not deciding the merits of the case. The majority opinion said a ruling on the merits is &ldquo;better left for resolution after full briefing and argument.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The dissent to the May order, written by Justice Elena Kagan and joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, asserted that the majority&rsquo;s opinion effectively overruled <em>Humphrey&rsquo;s<\/em> &ldquo;pending our eventual review.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>With the emergency application filed by the Trump administration to allow three CPSC members, Solicitor General D. John Sauer also asked the justices to consider taking up the merits of the case, noting the continued cavalcade of lawsuits over Trump&rsquo;s firings of independent agency heads.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Until this Court issues a final decision, each of those agencies will operate under a cloud of uncertainty and will risk legal challenges to any actions that it takes,&rdquo; Sauer wrote, noting the earlier order allowing Wilcox and Harris to be fired in the interim did not change lower courts&rsquo; thinking on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This Court should grant certiorari before judgment now, hear argument in the fall, and put a speedy end to the disruption being caused by uncertainty about the scope of <em>Humphrey&rsquo;s Executor<\/em>,&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25A11\/364298\/20250702100415980_Boyle%20Stay%20Application.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"application\">application<\/a> filed by Sauer said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3471401\/trump-efforts-to-end-tps-legal-battles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"TRUMP&rsquo;S EFFORTS TO END TPS FOR MULTIPLE COUNTRIES TIED UP IN LEGAL BATTLES\">TRUMP&rsquo;S EFFORTS TO END TPS FOR MULTIPLE COUNTRIES TIED UP IN LEGAL BATTLES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Less than a day after a district court called for fired Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter to be reinstated, Sauer wrote a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25A11\/365512\/20250718112013945_25A11%20Boyle%20letter.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"letter\">letter<\/a> to the high court pointing out the lower court&rsquo;s ruling and claimed it added to the urgency for the justices to hear the merits of the CPSC members case.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court&rsquo;s emergency docket has been crowded with applications from the Justice Department since Trump returned to office more than six months ago, with little sign the number of applications will slow down soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2179466\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2179466\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump faces ongoing legal battles over firing agency heads<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2465675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/trump-oval-office-white-house-july-22-2025.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5045,53155,34319,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2465674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-government","tag-independent-agencies","tag-legal-battles","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/trump-oval-office-white-house-july-22-2025.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2465674"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2465678,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465674\/revisions\/2465678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2465675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2465674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2465674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2465674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}