Overview
- The conservative majority has allowed contested removals to remain in effect during litigation and has signaled openness to narrowing or overruling Humphrey’s Executor.
- Trump dismissed FTC commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter in March without citing statutory cause; a district judge ordered reinstatement and the D.C. Circuit declined to undo it, but the Supreme Court kept her out pending review.
- The justices agreed to decide whether courts may order reinstatement of unlawfully removed officials or must limit relief to back pay.
- The outcome could reshape leadership protections across agencies including the NLRB, MSPB, and CPSC, with a separate case next month testing the status of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
- Administration lawyers urge the Court to reject the 1935 precedent, arguing modern independent regulators exercise executive power that must remain answerable to the president.