New SCOTUS case could significantly expand presidential power
Image: SCOTUS Blog
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later today in a case that could expand presidential power and remove protections for the heads of independent agencies.
- The case, known as Trump v. Slaughter, centers around President Trump's move to fire Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democrat on the five-person Federal Trade Commission, without cause back in March.
- The decision runs counter to a 90-year-old SCOTUS precedent that only allows FTC commissioners to be fired for instances of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.
Background: In the 1935 SCOTUS ruling, which centered around President Franklin Roosevelt's attempt to fire a FTC commissioner, the Court allowed Congress to shield certain independent agency members from being removed by the president at will.
But that precedent has been chipped away in several recent SCOTUS decisions, which ended such protections for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2020, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2021.
Since Trump returned to the White House for his second term, he has moved to fire a wide range of Democratic-appointed members of independent boards and commissions, including FTC Commissioner Slaughter.
The arguments
On one side of the case, proponents of a conservative legal doctrine called the "unitary executive" theory claim the president should possess sole authority over the executive branch—including the power to fire heads of independent agencies at will, and also to pick their replacements.
- They argue that Article II of the Constitution—“The executive Power shall be vested in a President”—is clear as day, and that the alternative to a unitary executive is rule by bureaucrats, who aren’t accountable to voters.
On the flip side…Critics of the unitary executive theory—who mostly lean left—note that Congress enacted the protections for independent agency heads to keep those offices free from political interference. They argue that making such officials removable at the president's whim would threaten the regulatory stability relied upon by businesses, consumers and the American public.
Looking ahead…The Court’s decision is expected sometime before late June. SCOTUS is also set to hear another case regarding the unitary executive next month, with arguments centered around Trump's attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
đź“Š Flash poll: In general, do you agree or disagree with the unitary executive theory?
See a 360° view of what pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that SCOTUS should finally move to restrain Trump’s unlawful actions in this new case, after the six GOP-appointed justices have smoothed the path for his dangerous campaign to undermine the Constitution and our system of government.
- Others contend that Justices need to remember that, under the Constitution, Congress’ legislative power to set rules to govern the executive branch must generally prevail over presidential executive orders and unilateral mandates.
- “The Supreme Court Is Failing at Its Most Important Job” –NY Times Editorial Board
- “Trump cannot remake the government with the stroke of a Sharpie
- “Actually, the Supreme Court Has a Plan” –Sarah Isgur, NY Times
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that claims of Trump’s actions creating a constitutional crisis are overblown, if not completely imaginary, as these same Democrats railing against Trump were silent when President Biden unilaterally forgave $400 billion in student-loan debt.
- Others contend that the separation of powers in the US Constitution should be defended rigorously by Congress and the Courts, since it provides safeguards against threats to liberty stemming from the accumulation of powers in any single man or institution.
- “Liberal claim Trump's causing a constitutional crisis ignores a key reality” –John Yoo & Robert J. Delahunty, Fox News
- “Congress Can Rein In Executive Power” –William A. Galston, WSJ
- “Partisans Miss the Point by Debating the Unitary Executive: Congress Is the Problem and the Solution” –GianCarlo Canaparo, Heritage Foundation
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