Overview

• In a 6-3 emergency order, the justices stayed lower-court rulings that had reinstated Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, allowing her removal to stand during the litigation.
• The court granted expedited review and will hear the case in December, focusing on whether for-cause protections for FTC commissioners violate the Constitution and whether Humphrey’s Executor should be overruled.
• A second question for briefing asks whether federal courts can order reinstatement or otherwise prevent an official’s removal, even if the firing is found unlawful.
• Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, criticizing the use of the emergency docket and arguing Humphrey’s remains controlling until explicitly overturned.
• The justices declined to take related NLRB and MSPB cases for full review now after previously allowing those interim removals, signaling the FTC dispute as the primary vehicle with broad implications for independent agencies.