Supreme Court Allows Trump to Remove Independent Federal Regulators

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of expanding presidential authority over federal regulatory agencies. The decision opens the door for future presidents, including Donald Trump, to more easily remove independent regulators from office.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Donald Trump on Thursday, granting the former president the authority to remove independent federal regulators—a significant development for presidential power. In a 6-3 decision, the justices sided with Trump’s administration, overturning lower court decisions that had tried to limit his ability to fire certain officials.

The case focused on Trump’s efforts to dismiss two Biden-appointed officials: Gwynne Wilcox of the National Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Both were set to serve until 2028, but Trump ordered their removal earlier this year. The officials pushed back, arguing that their roles were protected and could only be terminated for cause.

Lower courts initially sided with the officials, blocking Trump’s removals. But the Department of Justice, under Solicitor General D. John Sauer, appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming the president had the constitutional right to remove them.

Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary administrative stay, which Thursday’s full court ruling has now extended. The Supreme Court’s brief order stated that allowing a removed official to retain power posed a greater constitutional risk than preventing one from performing their duties.

The ruling fell along ideological lines, with Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson dissenting. In her dissent, Justice Kagan criticized the majority’s decision as “extraordinary,” saying it disrupts the balance of power.

The Trump administration argued that the Constitution gives the president broad authority to remove executive officials, unless Congress clearly restricts it—which they say was not the case here. They also claimed that a 1935 precedent, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, applied only to specific types of multi-member regulatory bodies, not to the officials in question.

Wilcox and Harris warned that Trump’s approach could threaten the independence of agencies like the Federal Reserve, but the Court dismissed that, noting the Fed’s unique status as a “quasi-private” institution.

While this decision does not yet resolve the full constitutional question, it temporarily empowers Trump to proceed with the removals as the case continues in lower courts. If needed, the case could return to the Supreme Court for a final judgment on presidential removal powers.

This ruling has major implications for the future of federal agencies. It signals strong judicial backing for expanded presidential control over the executive branch, something Trump has long advocated as part of his campaign to restructure the federal bureaucracy. For now, Trump’s authority has been upheld, marking a key win for executive power in the ongoing legal battles over the administrative state.

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