Overview
- The Court on June 29 issued a 6–3 decision in Trump v. Slaughter that overruled Humphrey’s Executor (1935), held statutory for‑cause removal protections for FTC commissioners unconstitutional, and upheld President Trump’s March 2025 firings of two FTC commissioners.
- In a companion opinion, the Court carved out a narrow exception for the Federal Reserve in Trump v. Cook and left the specific question of whether Governor Lisa Cook may be removed on the merits unresolved.
- The majority tied its ruling to the fact that agencies that exercise rulemaking, enforcement, or adjudication perform executive functions, which means roughly two dozen multimember agencies such as the NLRB, SEC, CFTC, EEOC, and FTC now face legal challenges to their removal protections.
- Scientists, legal experts, labor groups, and industry observers warned the decisions will increase political control over grantmaking, research priorities, labor enforcement, and financial regulation and many urged Congress to consider statutory safeguards like the Scientific Integrity Act.
- Expect immediate follow‑on litigation and congressional oversight fights, faster personnel turnover at agencies as presidents reshape regulatory agendas, and tangible effects for workers, consumers, and markets as enforcement priorities can change quickly with new commissioners.