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Supreme Court Hears Trump v. Slaughter, Testing Presidents’ Power Over Independent Agencies

The session centers on the Justice Department’s push to overturn Humphrey’s Executor alongside a question about judicial reinstatement.

A worker shovels snow and ice in front of the Supreme Court building during the first snowfall of the winter season on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump walks the red carpet before the 48th Kennedy Center Honors, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025; Federal Trade Commission commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 8, 2019; President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House in Washington on Jan. 30, 1936.
US Supreme Court Police stand behind security barriers in front of the Court building, on the first day of the Court’s new term, October 6, 2025.

Overview

  • Oral arguments opened Monday on whether President Trump could lawfully fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter without citing statutory cause.
  • The administration urged the justices to jettison the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent, with Solicitor General D. John Sauer arguing it is an indefensible outlier.
  • The court’s 6–3 conservative majority has already let Trump’s removals at agencies such as the NLRB, MSPB and CPSC take effect while litigation proceeds.
  • The justices also took up whether courts may order reinstatement of unlawfully removed officials, a remedy some members have questioned in favor of back pay only.
  • A ruling is expected by June, and a separate case over the attempted removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook is set for argument in January.