SCOTUS takes up Trump’s bid to fire FTC commissioner at will — a showdown that could topple 90-year precedent
The Supreme Court will weigh the legality of President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission without cause on Monday — a blockbuster legal fight...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Supreme Court will weigh the legality of President Donald Trump ’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission without cause on Monday — a blockbuster legal fight that could fundamentally reshape the balance of powers across the federal government, and formally topple a 90-year-old court precedent. Justices agreed earlier this year to take up the case, which centers on Trump's firing of Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat, without cause and well before her term was slated to expire in 2029. Slaughter sued immediately to challenge her removal, arguing that it violated protections the Supreme Court enshrined in Humphrey's Executor , a 1935 ruling that restricted a president's ability to remove the heads of independent agencies, such as the FTC, without cause. LAWYERS FOR COOK, DOJ TRADE BLOWS AT HIGH-STAKES CLASH OVER FED FIRING Slaughter also argued her removal violates the Federal Trade Commission Act, or a 1914 law passed by Congress that shields FTC members from being removed by a president except in circumstances of "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." A federal judge sided with Slaughter's lawyers in July, agreeing that her firing unlawfully exceeded Trump's executive branch powers and ordered her reinstated. The Supreme Court in September stayed that decision temporarily, allowing Trump's firing to remain in effect pending their review. The Supreme Court's willingness to review the case is a sign that justices might be ready to do away completely with Humphrey's protections, which have already been weakened significantly over the last 20 years. Allowing Humphey's to be watered down further, or overturned completely, could allow sitting presidents to wield more authority in ordering the at-will firing of members of other federal regulatory agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission, among others, and replacing them with persons of their choosi…