{"id":751,"date":"2026-06-29T15:41:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751"},"modified":"2026-06-29T15:41:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:41:01","slug":"supreme-court-expands-trumps-power-over-independent-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

The Supreme Court has expanded the president\u2019s authority over independent agencies, ruling against former Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, who was fired by President Donald Trump last year.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court Blocks Trump\u2019s Attempt to Fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook<\/a><\/p>\n

In a 6-3 ruling, the justices argued that at-will removal protections for members violates the Constitution\u2019s separation of powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe FTC unquestionably exercises executive power, and must therefore be controlled by the Chief Executive, in whom such power is vested. It follows, then, that Slaughter served as the President\u2019s subordinate at the FTC\u2014and that the President was entitled to cut her tenure short,\u201d Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion in the case of Trump v. Slaughter.<\/p>\n

Trump fired Slaughter and another former Democratic FTC commissioner, Alvaro Bedoya, in March 2025, writing in their termination letters that their \u201ccontinued service on the FTC is inconsistent with my administration\u2019s priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slaughter and Bedoya sued the Trump administration for unlawful termination under the legislation creating the agency, which limits the reasons for the president\u2019s removal of a commissioner to \u201cinefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.\u201d Bedoya later removed himself as a plaintiff in the case to seek other work.<\/p>\n

The decision in the Slaughter case overturns a seminal Supreme Court ruling for independent federal agencies, Humphrey\u2019s Executor v. United States, which affirmed at-will removal protections for FTC commissioners and has since been cited in many legal opinions.<\/p>\n

The government argued that today\u2019s FTC is a far cry from the commission in the 1935 case because it now exercises executive powers, including the authority to investigate potential violations of federal law and adjudicate claims itself. That puts FTC commissioners more firmly under the president\u2019s authority, Justice Department attorneys argued.<\/p>\n

Read more Inside Republicans\u2019 Plan to Win the Midterms<\/a><\/p>\n

In an interview with NOTUS<\/u><\/span> in February, Slaughter said Trump\u2019s decision to terminate her threatened the ability of independent agency leaders to do their jobs free of political considerations and corrupt schemes to influence policy. It also usurps Congress\u2019 constitutional powers over independent agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just a public servant who wants to do the job that she took an oath to do,\u201d Slaughter said. \u201cIf one branch is acting without checks from the other two, that is a breakdown of the constitutional order that we are supposed to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissenting opinion, wrote that the majority decision infringes on the constitutional powers of Congress, giving the president \u201ca power unknown even to the English Crown against which the Founders revolted, elevating him above his once coequal branches by transforming a duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed into a license to act in defiance of those very laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sotomayor added that the decision assumes the Court \u201cknows better\u201d than the founders of the agencies themselves on the question of removal.<\/p>\n

A federal District Court judge sided with Slaughter in July last year, arguing that the FTC possessed those powers when the Supreme Court heard Humphrey\u2019s Executor. The government appealed the District Court\u2019s decision, eventually bringing the question of at-will removal protections before the Supreme Court once again.<\/p>\n

Read more U.S. Chamber of Commerce Lobbies Against Defense Stock Buyback Proposal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The high court said the president had the authority to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courts"],"yoast_head":"\nSupreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The high court said the president had the authority to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T15:41:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T15:41:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751\"},\"wordCount\":558,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4d20d201cc617af652220f488af8ad17-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Courts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751\",\"name\":\"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4d20d201cc617af652220f488af8ad17-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T15:41:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4d20d201cc617af652220f488af8ad17-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/4d20d201cc617af652220f488af8ad17-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1697,\"caption\":\"FILE - The Federal Trade Commission building on Jan. 28, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo\\\/Alex Brandon, File)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=751#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Modern Home Journals\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies - Modern Home Journals","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies - Modern Home Journals","og_description":"The high court said the president had the authority to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission.","og_url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751","og_site_name":"Modern Home Journals","article_published_time":"2026-06-29T15:41:01+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"headline":"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies","datePublished":"2026-06-29T15:41:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751"},"wordCount":558,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4d20d201cc617af652220f488af8ad17-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Courts"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751","name":"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies - Modern Home Journals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4d20d201cc617af652220f488af8ad17-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-29T15:41:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4d20d201cc617af652220f488af8ad17-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4d20d201cc617af652220f488af8ad17-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1697,"caption":"FILE - The Federal Trade Commission building on Jan. 28, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=751#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Supreme Court Expands Trump\u2019s Power Over Independent Agencies"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/","name":"Modern Home Journals","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/modernhomejournals.com"],"url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}