WASHINGTON, December 8th.
The Supreme Court of the United States convened today to hear argument in a case that may redefine the limits of presidential authority over the independent agencies created by Congress, for the justices have been asked to determine whether a President may remove a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission at will or whether statutory protections enacted more than a century ago remain constitutionally valid, and the dispute arrived before the Court after a sequence of rulings issued by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and an emergency in-chambers order from the Supreme Court itself.
The controversy began when Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, whose position and tenure are documented by the FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, was removed from office, although her role is governed by Title 15, Section 41 of the United States Code, which establishes the Commission as a 5-member body whose commissioners serve staggered terms and may be removed only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office; that language was interpreted by the Supreme Court in HUMPHREY’S EXECUTOR v. UNITED STATES, decided in 1935, where the Court held that Congress had lawfully created an independent agency whose officers were shielded from unrestricted presidential removal.
Slaughter challenged her dismissal in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and on July 17th, 2025, the court issued its Memorandum Opinion and Order in SLAUGHTER v. TRUMP, docket number 25-cv-909, ruling that her removal violated both the statutory text and the precedent established in Humphrey’s Executor, and the district court therefore ordered that she be reinstated to her seat, holding that no showing of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance had been made to justify her removal under federal law.
The matter progressed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where on August 26th, 2025, the court issued an administrative stay in SLAUGHTER v. TRUMP, docket number 25-5264, temporarily suspending the reinstatement order while it reviewed the request for a full stay pending appeal; that temporary measure was followed on September 2nd, 2025, by a further order in the same appellate docket granting the stay pending appeal and setting an expedited schedule for briefing and argument, thereby ensuring that the removal would remain in effect while the appeal continued.
The dispute then reached the Supreme Court through an emergency application submitted by the President, and on September 22nd, 2025, the Court issued an in-chambers ruling in SLAUGHTER v. TRUMP, docket number 25A264, granting the stay of the district court’s judgment and allowing the removal to remain operative throughout the remainder of the proceedings; the order included a dissent authored by Justice Kagan and joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, who expressed concern that the stay risked undermining the protections recognized in Humphrey’s Executor, yet the majority permitted the stay to stand while the case advanced toward full review.
Today’s argument in TRUMP v. SLAUGHTER, docket number 25-332, therefore proceeds upon a complete record that presents the Court with a direct question of constitutional structure: whether the Federal Trade Commission, which functions as a multi-member body with bipartisan membership requirements and staggered terms, exercises executive authority in a manner that requires its commissioners to be removable at the President’s discretion, a position supported by the Court’s more recent decisions in SEILA LAW LLC v. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU and COLLINS v. YELLEN, or whether the Commission’s established format remains constitutionally distinct, thereby preserving the removal restrictions upheld in Humphrey’s Executor.
The significance of the case extends beyond the individual removal at issue, for numerous federal agencies are designed with similar protections, and the Court’s ruling will determine whether Congress may continue to limit the President’s removal authority through statutory design or whether such protections must yield to a broader understanding of executive power under Article II of the Constitution; the decision will influence the future operation of regulatory bodies that oversee commerce, competition, finance, labor, and the general public interest, and will clarify the balance between presidential authority and administrative independence.
A final ruling is not expected for several months, and until that decision is issued, the stay granted by the Supreme Court remains in effect, the district court’s reinstatement order remains suspended, and the constitutional boundaries of presidential removal power rest in the hands of the 9 justices who heard argument today.
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Primary First-Hand Sources
• SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, Slaughter v. Trump, No. 25A264, in-chambers stay order issued September 22nd, 2025
• UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT, Slaughter v. Trump, No. 25-5264, administrative stay order issued August 26th, 2025
• UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT, Slaughter v. Trump, No. 25-5264, stay and expedited briefing order issued September 2nd, 2025
• UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Slaughter v. Trump, No. 25-cv-909, Memorandum Opinion and Order issued July 17th, 2025
• UNITED STATES CODE, Title 15, Section 41, establishing the Federal Trade Commission and defining removal restrictions
• SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935)
• SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 591 U.S. 197 (2020)
• SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, Collins v. Yellen, 594 U.S. 220 (2021)
• FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION official biography and structural documentation regarding Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter
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