Overview
- During oral arguments, Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the Court to scrap Humphrey’s Executor, and several conservative justices questioned the precedent, with Chief Justice John Roberts calling it a “dried husk.”
- The case arises from President Trump’s March removal of FTC commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter; lower courts ordered her reinstated, but the Supreme Court let the ouster take effect while the appeal proceeds.
- The justices are also considering whether courts may order reinstatement when a firing is found unlawful, a remedial question that could curtail practical relief for removed officials.
- A ruling for the administration could weaken tenure protections across dozens of independent agencies, and the Court probed whether the Federal Reserve should be treated differently ahead of January arguments over Governor Lisa Cook.
- A decision is expected by June 2026, and the FTC currently has two of five commissioners, both Republican‑appointed, after Trump dismissed its two Democratic members.