Overview
- In Trump v. Slaughter the Court overruled Humphrey’s Executor and by a 6–3 vote allowed presidents broader power to remove commissioners who had previously been protected from firing for policy disagreements.
- The ruling removes a structural limit on presidential control that kept independent, multimember agencies like the FTC, SEC, NLRB, CPSC, and EEOC from sudden partisan reversals.
- Scholars propose statutory bipartisan quorum rules that would require commissioners from both parties to be present before agencies can act, and they say the CLARITY Act is an immediate test case for those rules.
- Expect rapid follow‑on litigation and near‑term regulatory uncertainty as parties challenge agency leadership, enforcement actions face new defenses, and agencies and markets adjust to faster personnel-driven shifts.
- Coverage divides on next steps: some outlets focus on legislative fixes and the CLARITY Act as a policy lever while others highlight litigation and enforcement risks, and dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned the decision undoes longstanding practice.