Supreme Court Rules That Independent Agency Commissioners Can Be Terminated by the President Without Cause

Short summary

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the President can remove independent agency commissioners without cause, overturning Humphrey's Executor and adopting unitary executive theory. This centralizes control over the FTC, FCC, NRC, and similar bodies, though the Federal Reserve received exemption. Questions about statutory protections for party-affiliation and staggered-term requirements remain unresolved.

• •Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Slaughter that independent agency commissioners serve at the President's pleasure, eliminating for-cause-removal protections
• •Overturns 1935 precedent (Humphrey's Executor); applies to FTC, FCC, NRC, FERC, CPSC; Federal Reserve exempted based on unique historical pedigree
• •Opens questions about whether other statutory independence protections (party-affiliation limits, staggered terms, civil service rules) survive constitutional scrutiny

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.