Can presidents fire all federal bureaucrats at will? Supreme Court to hear case with major implications

President Donald Trump’s work to dismantle the administrative state has reached a tipping point that could have major implications for the future. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments that will determine President Trump’s firing power at federal agencies, specifically at the Federal Trade Commission.

On Monday, the court will hear arguments that will challenge a 90-year-old precedent from Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.

A Supreme Court decision in President Trump’s favor could rewrite the bounds of presidential power over the administrative state.

The case before the court came after President Trump fired Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter over email in March. Trump did not cite any legal reasoning for Slaughter’s firing, even though Humphrey’s Executor states that an FTC commissioner may be fired only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

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Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images

Trump has also fired employees at the National Labor Relations Board, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Trump has been challenged on other high-profile firings in recent months, including those of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and a copyright official at the Library of Congress, Shira Perlmutter. They have both successfully avoided losing their positions thus far.

Though the FTC is likely to be treated differently because of the precedent, a Supreme Court decision in President Trump’s favor could rewrite the bounds of presidential power over the administrative state.

The court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority. Three of the justices were appointed during Trump’s first term.

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