Supreme Court overturns 90-year precedent, allows presidents to fire independent agency leaders

Jun 29, 2026

The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Slaughter to expand presidential power, allowing President Donald Trump to fire independent agency leaders at will. The landmark decision overturned the 90-year-old Humphrey's Executor precedent, which protected regulatory officials from political removal. While the conservative majority upheld Trump's firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, it voted 5-4 to block his attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, preserving the central bank's independence for now.

Supreme Court removal power ruling

▪The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the president has the authority to fire leaders of independent federal agencies at will.
▪The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to reject President Donald Trump's 2025 firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

Humphrey's Executor precedent overturned

▪The 1935 Humphrey's Executor precedent had recognized the authority of Congress to protect leaders of certain regulatory agencies from presidential removal at will.
▪The US Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Trump v. Slaughter overturned the 1935 landmark precedent Humphrey's Executor v. United States.

FTC commissioner firing case

▪Rebecca Slaughter sued the Trump administration, arguing she was fired without cause, and a lower court initially ruled for her reinstatement.
▪Alvaro Bedoya, another Democratic Federal Trade Commission member fired alongside Rebecca Slaughter, resigned in June 2025 and dropped his lawsuit.
▪President Donald Trump fired Democratic Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter in March 2025 over policy differences.

Presidential control expansion consequences

▪The ruling effectively turns Federal Trade Commission commissioners into at-will employees and allows the president to leave opposing party seats vacant.

Independent agency protections eliminated

▪Former government officials warned that eliminating removal protections would jeopardize agency independence and make leaders reluctant to act without White House coordination.
▪The ruling throws into question the statutory removal protections of leaders at other federal agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.