In the summer of 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Trump v. Slaughter that authorized the president to unilaterally remove officers leading nearly all federal independent agencies. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts concluded that because these agencies exercise executive power, their leaders must be removable at will by the president to ensure constitutional accountability. The decision effectively overruled the 1935 precedent Humphrey’s Executor, which had protected such officials from being fired without specific cause.
The ruling followed a March 2025 action by President Donald Trump, who fired two Democratic commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). One of the removed officials, Rebecca Slaughter, filed suit, leading to the Supreme Court case. The Trump administration argued for the reversal of Humphrey’s Executor, a case that originated from the same agency decades earlier.
Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion described the 1926 case Myers v. United States as \"seminal,\" asserting that the executive power includes the authority to oversee officers through removal. He argued that the modern FTC has accumulated rulemaking and enforcement powers that make it part of the president's constitutional role. However, the court also issued a separate ruling in Trump v. Cook on the same day, maintaining a \"good cause\" removal restriction for Federal Reserve governors based on the \"history and tradition\" of independent monetary policy.
The scale of the impact involves the majority of the nation's executive-branch auxiliaries. While the exact number of affected positions was not reported, the ruling covers agencies with \"vast rulemaking, enforcement, and adjudicatory powers.\" For example, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which regulates financial products for millions of households, had its single-director structure successfully challenged in the preceding Seila Law case, a precursor to this broader ruling.
The decision sets a precedent that subordinates the \"vast majority of executive agencies to the president’s will,\" according to Rodger Citron. The only noted exception remains the Federal Reserve, where the court upheld removal protections to preserve independence in monetary policy. Following the Slaughter and Cook decisions on October 23, 2026, the new removal standards became effective, though Justice Clarence Thomas has challenged the reasoning behind the Federal Reserve exception, suggesting future litigation may target remaining independent structures.