Overview
- The justices scheduled oral argument for Dec. 8 in Trump v. Slaughter, a challenge to the president’s authority to dismiss an FTC commissioner.
- In September, the Court stayed a lower-court reinstatement order, allowing President Trump to proceed with Rebecca Slaughter’s removal while the case is pending.
- The 6-3 order drew dissents from the liberal justices, as the majority signaled openness to revisiting limits on presidential removal power.
- Federal law permits removing FTC commissioners only for cause, and lower courts had relied on the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent to block Slaughter’s firing before the Supreme Court intervened.
- The outcome could quickly affect parallel disputes involving NLRB and MSPB members and may guide the separate January case on Trump’s attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.