The US Supreme Court seems likely to expand the president's power and back Donald Trump's firing of independent-agency board members.
On Monday, the top court appeared ready to make it easier for Trump to dismiss independent government officials.
While hearing a case on Trump’s attempt to remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the court’s conservative majority signalled a willingness to overturn or sharply narrow a 1935 precedent that allowed Congress to restrict a president’s power to fire certain executive branch officials.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the FTC protected by that 90-year-old ruling bears little resemblance to today’s commission, which he argued now wields significant executive power reserved for the president.
He described the 1935 precedent as a dried husk, according to the New York Times.
The court’s three liberal justices warned that siding with the Trump administration in the FTC case could have sweeping effects on the structure of modern government.
Justice Elena Kagan noted that such a ruling would “put massive, uncontrolled, unchecked power in the hands of the president.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that “you’re asking us to destroy the structure of government” and to take away from Congress its ability to insulate independent agencies from political pressures.
Presidential power tested
For almost 90 years, US law has protected these agency leaders from being fired just because a new president doesn’t like them. The goal was to keep experts making fair rules about safety, jobs, and money without political pressure.
Trump and many Republicans say the constitution gives the president control over everyone who works for the executive branch. They have been fighting in court, and with new rules to remove those protections, they are now very close to winning.
The case centres on Trump’s removal of Democratic FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, whom he dismissed in March despite her term running until 2029.
A lower court found that he had exceeded his authority, but the Justice Department appealed, and the Supreme Court took up the matter.
The outcome of the case could alter the balance of power among the branches of government.
