US Supreme Court allows Trump to temporarily remove FTC member

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US Supreme Court allows Trump to temporarily remove FTC member

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to keep a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) away from her post. This action, known as an administrative stay, pauses a judicial order that required the reinstatement of the commissioner, Rebecca Slaughter, who Trump sought to oust [1][2][3][4]. The court's decision gives the justices additional time to consider Trump's formal request to fire Slaughter before her term expires. The stay was issued by Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles emergency filings arising in Washington, D.C. [1][2]. The decision comes amidst ongoing litigation over the legality of Trump's move to dismiss Slaughter. The dispute centers on a 1935 Supreme Court ruling, known as Humphrey’s Executor, which upheld the constitutionality of Congress’ attempt to limit the president's ability to dismiss FTC members for political reasons. Legal conservatives have long been critical of this ruling, but the justices have not explicitly stated that all such protections are unconstitutional [3][4]. The Trump administration argues that the powers and activities of the modern FTC have broadened significantly since the 1935 ruling, making the old precedent inapplicable. However, the administration also acknowledges that if the justices conclude that the changes are not enough to justify ignoring Humphrey’s, the court should overrule it [3]. The stay was issued two days after a federal appeals court panel ruled, 2-1, that Slaughter should be reinstated. The majority on the D.C. Circuit panel said lower courts lacked the authority to disregard Humphrey’s, particularly in a dispute involving the same agency the high court grappled with in that 90-year-old case. However, a dissenting judge adopted the Justice Department’s view that the FTC is now so different that the long-standing precedent isn’t applicable [3][4]. The Federal Trade Commission's mission is to protect the public from deceptive or unfair business practices and from unfair methods of competition. It has five commissioners, who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate; no more than three of the commissioners may come from any one political party. The president can only remove a commissioner from office for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office [4]. In March, Trump fired Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic appointee to the FTC. Trump told Slaughter that allowing her to remain on the commission would be "inconsistent with [the] administration’s priorities." Slaughter challenged the legality of her removal in federal court, and a U.S. District Judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate her [4]. The Trump administration appealed the decision, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to put the reinstatement order on hold. The court of appeals reasoned that the Supreme Court's 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor applied fully to this case. However, the court acknowledged that the earlier proceedings on the emergency docket involved agencies with different structures and powers [4]. The Supreme Court's decision to grant the stay sets up yet another test of the president’s ability to fire the heads of independent multi-member agencies, as well as the weight that the Supreme Court’s earlier rulings on its emergency docket should carry going forward [4]. References: [1] https://ca.news.yahoo.com/us-supreme-court-lets-trump-150630727.html [2] https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-supreme-court-lets-trump-remove-ftc-member-now-2025-09-08/ [3] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/04/trump-supreme-court-appeal-ftc-commissioner-00545620 [4] https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/09/trump-administration-asks-justices-to-block-temporary-reinstatement-of-ftc-commissioner/