Overview
- After Monday’s arguments, the conservative-leaning Court signaled openness to validating President Trump’s dismissal of FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter.
- Lower courts had deemed the firing unlawful under statutes permitting removal only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance.
- The Justice Department has told Congress it views for‑cause protections for multi‑member commissions as unconstitutional and will ask the Court to overturn the 1935 ruling.
- The justices are also weighing whether judges can order reinstatement of officials found to have been unlawfully removed.
- A decision narrowing or overruling Humphrey’s Executor could let presidents reshape agencies such as the FTC, NLRB, and SEC; the Court’s recent 2025 orders favoring broader removal at the NLRB and MSPB underscore the shift, with a ruling expected by June.