Supreme Court Says Donald Trump Can Remove Democratic FTC Commissioner

The Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump was within his authority to remove a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, giving a boost to his efforts to exert more control over what have been considered independent federal agencies.

Rebecca Slaughter, one of two Democrats on the FTC, had challenged her removal last year, arguing that she was protected by a law that she only could be fired for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or

malfeasance in office.”

In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “Although it is up to the Senate to decide whether to confirm those with whom the President would prefer to work, neither Congress nor the courts may saddle him with those with whom he cannot work. Subordinates who exercise the President’s power are subject to removal by him. Then, and only then, can they remain accountable to the President, and the President to the people.”

Her removal also raises the question of whether Trump will seek to fire the sole Democrat on the FCC, Anna Gomez. But doing so would leave the commission with just two members, Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty, short of a quorum. The Senate would have to confirm another commissioner before the panel could pass legally binding rules.

Gomez told reporters last week, “You know, I’m still here, and I intend to continue to fight for consumers, to promote innovation and to protect free expression for as long as I can.” She has been an outspoken critic of Trump and Carr, particularly for their attacks on the media. She told reporters that she is “assuming the quorum is a good reason” why she has not been removed.

The FTC currently has just two commissioners, Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Mark Meador. But it has different quorum requirements that allow for just two commissioners, although that, too, is the source of some dispute.

The court’s decision overturned a 1935 precedent — in Humphrey’s Executor vs. the United States — that allowed Congress to place limits on the president’s powers to remove officials in independent agencies.

Roberts wrote, “The FTC’s for-cause removal provision violates the separation of powers. In its present form, the FTC enforces and administers some 80 statutes, which cover almost every facet of our Nation’s economy. The tasks it undertakes are ‘the very essence of ‘execution’ of the law’ —precisely the President’s constitutional role.”

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “Today, the Court discards that democratic regime in favor of one that distorts the structure of Government to fit the majority’s theory of unitary, total executive control. The result is a President who emerges with far greater power than ever before. It is a power, however, that neither the People, nor Congress, nor the Constitution bestowed upon him. In granting the President this unbridled authority, the Court upends its precedent, misconstrues our history, and sheds any pretense of judicial modesty.”

Trump reacted to the decision on Truth Social, writing, “BIG WIN just moments ago at the Supreme Court, in the Slaughter Case, confirming Presidential Power in our Country to remove Executive Branch Officers and Agency Appointees, or Representatives, under Article II. This Decision was long sought by United States Presidents, dating all the way back to the 1930s. It is such an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling, one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The Supreme Court did reject Trump’s attempt to immediately remove Lisa Cook, a governor on the Federal Reserve, although their decision was not made on the underlying facts of the case. Rather, that will be left to future proceedings in lower courts.

More to come.