SCOTUS Allows Trump Firing Of Ex-Schumer Aide From FTC — For Now

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to fire a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after the commissioner sued over her dismissal.

The president, in March, fired Rebecca Kelly Slaughter — a former chief counsel to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York — along with another Democratic commissioner. On Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary administrative stay to allow more time to consider Trump’s request to remove Slaughter.

The order temporarily blocks a July ruling by a Biden-appointed judge that reinstated Slaughter until the case is adjudicated, but does not indicate how the Court will ultimately rule on Trump’s appeal.

The Supreme Court affirmed protections against removing leaders of “independent” agencies like the FTC without cause in its 1935 ruling Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. Citing that precedent, a federal judge reinstated Slaughter in July, and a federal appeals court upheld the decision in a 2-1 ruling on Wednesday.

“President Trump acted lawfully when he removed Rebecca Slaughter from the FTC. Indeed, the Supreme Court has twice in the last few months confirmed the President’s authority to remove the heads of executive agencies,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the