Overview

• The Supreme Court will hear December arguments on whether President Trump may dismiss certain executive officials for any reason despite statutory protections.
• Legal coverage suggests the conservative majority is likely to favor an expansive view of presidential control over the executive branch.
• University of Virginia professor Caleb Nelson, a frequently cited originalist and former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, argued on Sept. 29 that Congress can restrict presidential removal power.
• Prominent scholars reacted quickly, with William Baude calling the essay a “Bombshell!” and NYU’s Richard H. Pildes saying it undercuts an originalist rationale for expanding presidential authority.
• The dispute sits against Humphrey’s Executor’s allowance for removal limits and Chief Justice John Roberts’s past endorsements of broader removal authority, including a 2010 opinion emphasizing presidential power.