Overview
- Oral arguments are set for Monday in a case arising from President Trump’s March 2025 removal of FTC commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, which lower courts found unlawful under Humphrey’s Executor.
- After the D.C. Circuit declined to pause a reinstatement order on a 2–1 vote, Chief Justice John Roberts granted an administrative stay on September 8, and the Court took the case on certiorari before judgment on September 22.
- The justices will weigh whether statutory for‑cause protections for multimember commissions violate separation of powers and whether Humphrey’s Executor should be narrowed or overruled.
- The Court will also address whether federal courts may enjoin a presidential removal by ordering reinstatement, a remedy questioned by D.C. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao in dissent.
- Solicitor General D. John Sauer argues Article II grants the president authority to remove officials, citing Seila Law, while Slaughter’s brief defends Humphrey’s Executor and warns a ruling for the administration could disrupt independent‑agency design and affect related disputes involving Shira Perlmutter and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.