The Supreme Court yesterday upheld President Donald Trump's March 2025 firing of a Democratic Federal Trade Commission member, a decision that overturns a 91-year-old precedent and reasserts presidential authority over unelected federal agencies. This landmark ruling strips Congress of its power to fire leaders of independent agencies, transferring that authority directly to the President. It doesn't just affect one agency; it could fundamentally reshape the operations of more than a dozen federal bodies.
President Trump, after taking office again in 2025, declared all federal agencies under his control. He fired two Democratic members of the five-member Federal Trade Commission board, Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, in March 2025. He isn't just talking about the FTC; he also attempted to remove three Democrats from the five-commissioner U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in May 2025.
Margot Cleveland, of counsel at the right-leaning NCLA, hailed the Supreme Court's decision in Slaughter as "a huge victory for our constitutional republic." She stated the ruling "ensures that federal agencies remain answerable to the Executive—and in turn the American people who elected the President," by returning to a faithful interpretation of separation of powers.
Reclaiming National Authority
The court's decision explicitly overturns Humphrey's Executor v. United States, a 1935 ruling that had upheld restrictions on removing leaders of multimember administrative agencies. The Supreme Court has been systematically chipping away at this long-standing decision since 2010. This move effectively dismantles a barrier that insulated powerful federal bureaucracies from direct accountability to the nation's elected leader. The FTC, for instance, enforces antitrust and consumer protection laws across virtually every area of commerce.
The Bureaucratic Backlash
Predictably, elements of the established NGO complex immediately decried the ruling. Emily Peterson-Cassin, director of competition and market fairness at the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), claimed the decision risks "turning independent consumer protection agencies into political pawns." She argued consumers would "lose an important safeguard against abuse" when experts "charged with policing fraud" can be removed at will.
Alvaro Bedoya, one of the fired FTC members, released a statement calling the Supreme Court "a billionaire's fan club." He asserted the ruling allows corporations to hurt people and deny them their day in court, adding, "The only people who will win from this ruling are the President's billionaire golfing buddies." Courtney Griffin, director of consumer product safety at CFA, confirmed that the firings of three U.S. CPSC commissioners in May 2025 will now stand. She warned that "Today's decision does more than undermine one agency. It completely reshapes our government," including the CPSC, which she called "the watchdog that guards against dangerous products that injure and kill."
Alexandra Reeve Givens, president and CEO of left-leaning CDT, stated that the Trump administration "has made no effort to hide its desire to use the levers of government authority to strongarm and intimidate political enemies." She concluded the Supreme Court "has taken down one of the key barriers stopping them."
Restoring Executive Accountability
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had previously affirmed on May 9, 51 days ago, that President Trump could fire any staffers within the executive branch. "He has the right to fire people within the executive branch," Leavitt said. "It’s a pretty simple answer."