Getty ImagesThe conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared to side with the Trump administration in a case that could have major implications for the independence of federal agencies long shielded from the White House.
Trump v. Slaughter involves President Donald Trump's firing of Rebecca Slaughter in March along with another Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The court heard more than two hours of arguments over whether Trump could fire her because federal law says a commissioner can only be fired for “ineffectiveness, neglect of duty or malfeasance in the performance of official duties.”
The court's decision is expected to be announced within a few months.
Ms Slaughter sued Mr Trump after she was removed from office earlier this year for being “inconsistent with [the] Administration priorities.”
Trump argued that the president should be able to fully control government agencies, even those created by Congress to protect against presidential interference.
When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was created in 1914—to protect the public from deceptive business practices and unfair competition—Congress passed a law stating that the president could remove commissioners only for cause and that the five-member commission could have no more than three members from the same political party.
Trump nominated Slaughter in 2018 to a Democratic position on the Federal Trade Commission, and she was later reappointed by former President Joe Biden.
Similar termination rules exist for other independent agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board.
The law was put to the test in 1935 when President Franklin Roosevelt tried to remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, leading the Supreme Court to uphold the independence of some federal agencies such as the Trade Commission.
In a 90-year-old ruling known as “Executioner Humphrey,” the court found that while the president has the power to remove executive officials without cause, such power does not extend to agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, which are “neither political nor executive, but primarily quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative.”
During oral arguments Monday, the court's four conservative justices appeared to disagree with arguments from Ms. Slaughter's lawyers that it would be an unacceptable expansion of Mr. Trump's powers.
Defending the Trump administration, U.S. Attorney General John Sauer called the Humphrey rule an “unjustifiable aberration” and a “decaying shell” of a Supreme Court decision that should be overturned.
“I think broad delegations to unaccountable independent agencies raise enormous constitutional and real individual liberty issues,” said conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Three liberal justices pressed on why the court overturned 90-year-old precedent.
“You are asking us to destroy the structure of government,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, “and to deprive Congress of its ability to protect the idea that government is better structured through certain independent agencies.”
Justice Elena Kagan suggested that allowing Mr. Trump to remove Ms. Slaughter could have far-reaching consequences, asking: “The question is, what will it lead to?”
“Employees everywhere have executive power, and yet we have had civil service laws in place for over a century that give them significant protection from dismissal,” she said.
Lawyer Amit Agarwal, representing Ms. Slaughter, said independent audit groups like the FTC have a long history in U.S. politics.
“Multi-member commissions, whose members enjoy some form of protection from removal, have been part of our history since 1790. So if the petitioners are right, then all three branches of government were wrong all along,” he said.
The court has already issued one ruling against Ms. Slaughter, which analysts say could indicate what ruling it will ultimately rule.
A lower court ruled that Ms. Slaughter was wrongfully removed from her job at the Federal Trade Commission, prompting the Trump administration to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
In a 6-3 decision, the conservative majority court in September issued an emergency order upholding her dismissal pending a review of the case.
The Supreme Court is also set to hear a separate case later on whether Trump had the authority to remove Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
