Overview
- In a 6–3 decision the Court overruled the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent and held that the president may remove Federal Trade Commission commissioners at will, ending long-standing statutory 'for cause' tenure for many agency seats.
- The Court issued a separate 5–4 ruling that left Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in place and kept the Fed’s statutory removal protections intact while lower courts resolve her challenge.
- The June 29 decisions give the presidency a clearer path to replace leaders at agencies such as the SEC, CFTC, FDIC, NLRB, CPSC and CFPB, creating pressure for faster leadership turnover and shifts in enforcement priorities.
- The rulings will spawn new litigation and likely prompt congressional debate over agency structure because courts and lawmakers must now sort where the new removal rule applies and where exceptions like the Fed will stand.
- The opinions reflect a turn toward the unitary-executive view of presidential power and mark a major change in administrative law that removes a long-standing buffer between politics and expert-led regulation.