Supreme Court Gives Trump Power to Fire Independent Agency Leaders, July 14

The Supreme Court ruled on June 29 that the president can fire members of independent federal agencies without cause, overturning a 91-year-old precedent. The case, Trump v. Slaughter, centered on Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic Federal Trade Commission commissioner whom Trump fired in March 2025. The decision eliminates statutory protections that shielded agency heads from removal, giving the president sweeping new power over dozens of federal commissions.

How the case started

Rebecca Slaughter was appointed to the Federal Trade Commission by Trump in 2018 as a Democratic member. She received a termination email in March 2025 while helping with rehearsal for her child’s elementary school play. Slaughter and fellow Democratic commissioner Alvaro Bedoya both filed a lawsuit challenging their firings. A federal judge reinstated Slaughter in July 2025, but the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court.

What the Supreme Court decided

The Court held that statutory for-cause removal protections for FTC commissioners violate the Constitution’s separation of powers. The ruling overturned Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a foundational 1935 precedent that had protected agency heads from at-will removal for nine decades. The dissenting opinion warned that dozens of independent agencies are now likely to become purely executive agencies, shifting power over broad areas of American life to the president.

Immediate impact on federal agencies

Trump has already used the ruling to reshape independent commissions. He fired the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission in July 2026, dropping it below the quorum required by statute to act. The EAC administers the Help America Vote Act and assists states in running elections. Federal officials fired under the new ruling call it a dagger at the heart of the civil service that opens agencies to corruption and manipulation at the president’s whim.

The Federal Reserve exception

The Supreme Court carved out one narrow exception. In Trump v. Cook, decided the same day, the Court left intact for-cause removal protections for Federal Reserve Governors. The majority held that the Federal Reserve’s removal protections are consistent with Article II of the Constitution. The reasoning behind this exception remains unresolved, leaving unclear whether it applies beyond the Federal Reserve.

Final Thoughts

The ruling gives Trump and future presidents direct control over dozens of federal agencies that Congress designed to operate independently. Slaughter’s case transformed a personnel dispute into a constitutional reshaping of federal power, with immediate consequences for election administration and other regulatory functions.

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