Overview

• Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative stay blocking lower-court orders that had reinstated Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.
• A D.C. district judge and a divided D.C. Circuit panel had ruled her March removal unlawful under the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent.
• The Justice Department argues the FTC’s removal protections unconstitutionally constrain Article II authority because the modern commission wields substantial executive power.
• The Supreme Court has recently allowed similar removals to proceed temporarily at the NLRB, MSPB and CPSC as related challenges move forward.
• Slaughter was one of two Democrats Trump sought to oust, Alvaro Bedoya has since resigned, and legal observers say the case could lead the court to revisit Humphrey’s Executor.