Trump’s Landmark Supreme Court Victory: What It Means for Presidential Power

The U.S. Supreme Court last week significantly expanded presidential authority over the executive branch, ruling 6-3 that presidents may remove officials from independent federal agencies without the firing protections that had been recognized for decades.

The decision gives President Donald Trump the authority to remove Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic appointee whose case became a central test of the administration’s effort to broaden presidential removal powers.

In doing so, the Court overturned its 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, ending a longstanding precedent that allowed Congress to provide certain executive branch officials with protections from at-will removal.