WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has significantly expanded presidential authority over independent federal agencies, ruling that presidents may remove members of the Federal Trade Commission without cause and overturning a 91-year-old legal precedent that had limited executive power over such bodies.
In a 6-3 decision issued on June 29, the court upheld President Donald Trump's dismissal of Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter and overruled its 1935 decision in Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which had allowed Congress to shield leaders of certain independent agencies from removal except for reasons such as inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the Constitution vests executive power in the president and that officials exercising executive authority must remain accountable to the elected chief executive. The majority concluded that statutory protections preventing the president from removing FTC commissioners without cause violated the constitutional separation of powers.
The ruling marks one of the most consequential expansions of presidential authority over the executive branch in decades and is expected to affect the structure and operation of numerous independent regulatory agencies. Legal analysts said the decision could influence agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and other multi-member commissions created by Congress to operate with a degree of independence from the White House.
The court, however, carved out a notable exception for the Federal Reserve. In a separate decision issued the same day, the justices allowed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to remain in office while litigation over her dismissal proceeds, indicating that the central bank's unique constitutional and historical role warrants different treatment.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the three dissenting liberal justices, argued that the ruling dismantles longstanding congressional safeguards designed to preserve the independence of regulatory agencies. She said the decision concentrates additional authority in the presidency and departs from decades of constitutional practice.
The Trump administration welcomed the ruling, which aligns with its longstanding argument that the president must have broad authority to supervise executive branch officials. Supporters said the decision strengthens democratic accountability by ensuring executive officers answer directly to the president, while critics warned it could weaken the independence of regulators overseeing consumer protection, labor, financial markets and other sectors.
The decision takes immediate effect and establishes a new constitutional framework governing presidential removal authority over most independent federal agencies, while leaving unresolved how broadly the ruling may apply to other agency structures in future litigation.
