{"id":2620945,"date":"2026-06-29T12:34:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-landmark-ruling-supreme-court-affirms-that-presidents-run-the-executive-branch\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T12:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:41:04","slug":"in-landmark-ruling-supreme-court-affirms-that-presidents-run-the-executive-branch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-landmark-ruling-supreme-court-affirms-that-presidents-run-the-executive-branch\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Affirms That Presidents Run The Executive Branch"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/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%2Fin-landmark-ruling-supreme-court-affirms-that-presidents-run-the-executive-branch%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=2620945&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 U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 in favor of presidential authority to remove members of self-reliant agencies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), overturning a longstanding precedent from <em>Humphrey\u2019s Executor v. United States<\/em> (1935). the case,known as <em>Trump v. Slaughter<\/em>, involved President Trump\u2019s attempt to dismiss FTC member Rebecca Slaughter adn addressed whether statutes limiting presidential removal power violate the separation of powers.<\/p>\n<p>chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, emphasized that the FTC&#8217;s extensive powers-such as making and enforcing rules and collecting penalties-rightfully belong to commissioners who should be accountable to the president. He argued that restrictions on removals undermine presidential accountability and that such limits are unconstitutional, calling the constitutional need for the President to have trusted officers paramount.<\/p>\n<p>This decision explicitly overturns the <em>Humphrey\u2019s<\/em> precedent, which previously limited presidential removal of FTC commissioners due to the agency\u2019s quasi-legislative and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-case-tests-presidents-authority-to-remove-officials\/\" title=\"SCOTUS ... Tests ...&#039;s Authority To Remove Officials\">quasi-judicial functions<\/a>. Roberts criticized this earlier ruling as lacking a solid rationale,asserting that independent agencies are not truly independent from presidential control,but rather insulated &#8220;from politics,&#8221; which can lead to increased congressional influence.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, warning that the ruling grants excessive power to the President, undermining the separation of powers and unfairly elevating presidential authority. She argued it disregards Constitutional principles and distorts American history.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Neil Gorsuch, concurring, expressed concern about Congress delegating vast powers to agencies and questioned whether Congress would have restricted presidential control if it anticipated such authority. He called for a broader return of legislative and judicial powers to Congress and the courts, emphasizing that this ruling marks a step toward restoring constitutional balance.<\/p>\n<p>The Court&#8217;s decision reverses the lower District Court ruling and sends the case back for further proceedings consistent with its majority opinion.  <\/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<div>\n<p>In a win for separation of powers, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed on Monday that presidents can remove members of so-called \u201cindependent agencies\u201d like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The huge 6-3 decision along <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >ideological lines overturns longstanding precedent<\/a> first established in <em>Humphrey\u2019s Executor v. United States<\/em> (1935). <\/p>\n<p>Known as <em>Trump v. Slaughter<\/em>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trump-v-slaughter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">case<\/a> centers around a challenge to Trump\u2019s removal of Democrat Rebecca Slaughter from the FTC last year. While the high court initially <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/22\/trump-scores-scotus-win-in-bid-to-fire-federal-trade-commission-member\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">granted<\/a> the Trump administration\u2019s request to temporarily pause a lower court blockade on Slaughter\u2019s removal, it also agreed to take up and address whether <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/here-are-the-biggest-outstanding-supreme-court-cases-to-keep-an-eye-out-for\/\" title=\"Here Are The Biggest Outstanding SCOTUS ...s To Look For\">existing statutory restrictions<\/a> on the president\u2019s ability to remove members of so-called \u201cindependent agencies\u201d like the FTC violate existing separation of powers.<\/p>\n<p>Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/25-332_qn12.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> how the FTC \u201chas accumulated vast rulemaking, enforcement, and adjudicatory powers under more than 80 statutes\u201d since its creation in 1914, and how it creates rules \u201cthat carry the force of law \u2026 [and] enforces those rules against private parties, collecting civil penalties in the billions of dollars.\u201d He further underscored how such expansive powers belong to the FTC\u2019s appointed commissioners, whose removal is limited by those enacted by Congress. These limits, he said, are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo \u2018discharg[e] the duties of his trust,\u2019 the President must have the assistance of officers he can trust. \u2026 Although it is up to the Senate to decide whether to confirm those with whom the President would prefer to work, neither Congress nor the courts may saddle him with those with whom he cannot work,\u201d Roberts wrote. \u201cSubordinates who exercise the President\u2019s power are subject to removal by him. Then, and only then, can they remain accountable to the President, and the President to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ:[READ:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/12\/03\/vital-scotus-case-tests-the-presidents-absolute-authority-to-remove-executive-branch-officials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vital SCOTUS Case Tests The President\u2019s Absolute Authority To Remove Executive Branch Officials<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-senate-judiciary-committee-confirms-amy-coney-barrett-for-supreme-court-democrats-boycott-committee-vote\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Senate Judiciary Committee Confirms Amy Coney Barrett for ... -- Democrats Boycott Committee Vote\">chief justice<\/a> went on to affirm that the court\u2019s <em>Slaughter<\/em> decision overturns the precedent <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/23\/scotus-tees-up-potential-takedown-of-progressives-independent-agencies-theory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first established<\/a> in <em>Humphrey\u2019s Executor<\/em>, which dealt with President Franklin Roosevelt\u2019s removal of William Humphrey, a Hoover appointee, from the FTC for partisan reasons. A subsequent challenge to Roosevelt\u2019s actions under the FTC Act \u2014 which placed limits on a president\u2019s removal of FTC commissioners \u2014 resulted in the Supreme Court unanimously holding Humphrey\u2019s removal to be unlawful under the FTC Act. The court said the FTC was different than traditional executive agencies because Congress created it to perform \u201cquasi-legislative\u201d and \u201cquasi-judicial\u201d functions. <\/p>\n<p>Roberts described the high court\u2019s <em>Humphrey\u2019s<\/em> decision as \u201ca result in search of a rationale.\u201d He noted that \u201cevery factor \u2014 the \u2018quality\u2019 of the decision\u2019s reasoning, its \u2018consistency\u2019 with our other cases, the \u2018workability\u2019 of its rule, and the interests of those who have \u2018reli[ed]\u2019 on it \u2026 \u2014 counsels in favor of letting <em>Humphrey\u2019s<\/em> go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSlaughter argues that Congress has relied upon <em>Humphrey\u2019s<\/em> to create agencies that are \u2018insulated from presidential control.\u2019 \u2026 That is precisely the problem. Despite what <em>Humphrey\u2019s<\/em> may say, independent agencies are not \u2018independent\u2019 in the sense that they are free of the President and thus responsive \u2018only to the people of the United States.\u2019 \u2026. Independent agencies are insulated \u2018from the President,\u2019 \u2018not from politics,&#8217;\u201d Roberts wrote. \u201cPlacing the power to administer laws in officers who enjoy \u2018freedom from Presidential oversight (and protection),\u2019 in other words, does not deliver us to a promised land of technocratic governance \u2014 it often results only in an \u2018increased subservience to congressional direction.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Writing on behalf of her fellow dissenting liberal justices, Justice Sonia Sotomayor accused the majority of giving \u201cthe President a power unknown even to the English Crown against which the Founders revolted, elevating him above his once coequal branches by transforming a duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed into a license to act in defiance of those very laws.\u201d She further argued the court\u2019s ruling \u201cupends rather than upholds the separation of powers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn granting the President this unbridled authority, the Court upends its precedent, misconstrues our history, and sheds any pretense of judicial modesty. I respectfully dissent,\u201d Sotomayor wrote.<\/p>\n<p>While joining the majority opinion in full, Justice Neil Gorsuch authored a concurrence in which he expressed concern about Congress delegating so much of its authority to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/campaign-2024-an-early-look-at-the-possible-republican-contenders\/\" title=\"Campaign 2024: An Early Look At The Possible Republican Contenders\">executive branch<\/a>. While agreeing with the court\u2019s decision and a president\u2019s oversight of \u201cindependent agencies,\u201d the Trump appointee questioned whether Congress would \u201chave delegated so much power, including legislative and judicial power, to independent agencies had it known that the President would come to control them,\u201d and how federal lawmakers will \u201crespond now \u2014 if realistically [they] can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Court today takes a notable step back toward the Constitution,\u201d Gorsuch wrote. \u201cAt the same time, it would be a grave mistake to think that step is enough on its own. The fact remains that Congress has endowed formerly independent agencies not just with executive authority, but with enormous legislative and judicial powers as well. And now the President enjoys control over all those powers too. From here, the only sure path is to finish the journey we start today and restore legislative and judicial powers to where they belong: in Congress and the courts. We have tolerated adventurous theories long enough. It is time to return, all the way, to the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court\u2019s ruling reverses the D.C. District Court\u2019s initial decision and remands the case back to the lower judiciary for further proceedings consistent with its majority opinion. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court affirms presidential power to remove agency members<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2620946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Donald-Trump-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[23095,5045,10423,32275],"class_list":["post-2620945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-executive-branch","tag-government","tag-presidency","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Donald-Trump-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620945","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2620945"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2620949,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620945\/revisions\/2620949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2620946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2620945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2620945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2620945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}