Overview
- The Supreme Court issued two companion opinions on Monday, June 29, 2026, overruling Humphrey’s Executor for most agencies in a 6-3 decision while separately blocking the immediate removal of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook in a 5-4 decision.
- In Trump v. Slaughter the justices held that the president may remove commissioners of agencies like the FTC at will, a ruling that strips a long-standing statutory barrier to firings and applies by its logic to bodies such as the NLRB, CFPB, MSPB and CPSC.
- In Trump v. Cook the Court concluded the government failed to give Cook required procedural protections, allowing her to remain on the Fed Board while lower courts further consider whether proved misconduct could justify removal.
- Both opinions were written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who framed the decisions as narrowing independent-agency protections generally but treating the Federal Reserve as distinct because its factual record and role in monetary policy require careful handling.
- The rulings immediately reshape agency staffing and enforcement prospects, heighten partisan reaction in Washington, and set the stage for more lawsuits in lower courts to define which offices remain removable only for cause and how removal processes must work.