The battle over presidential power and so-called “independent” agencies just flared up in Washington, and this time it’s the Federal Trade Commission sitting in the middle of the storm.
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court in D.C. sided with FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter — a Biden appointee who was fired by President Donald Trump after he took office — and ruled she can keep her job, at least for now.
In a 2–1 decision, the panel declared that Trump’s removal of Slaughter violated Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a nearly 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent that restricts the president’s ability to remove commissioners at agencies like the FTC without cause. The court’s majority opinion was blunt: “The government has no likelihood of success on appeal given controlling and directly on point Supreme Court precedent. Bucking such precedent is not within this court’s job description.”
Slaughter’s case has been a legal ping-pong match. She was first fired by Trump, reinstated by a lower court ruling in July, then re-fired after the appellate court temporarily froze that decision.
Tuesday’s order lifted that freeze, meaning she can return to work immediately. She wasted no time declaring victory, posting on social media: “I’m eager to get back first thing tomorrow to the work I was entrusted to do on behalf of the American people.”
But the story is far from over. The Trump administration, backed by Justice Department lawyers, is preparing to appeal the decision — either to the full D.C. Circuit or directly to the Supreme Court. Judge Neomi Rao, Trump’s appointee on the panel, filed a dissent arguing that the case was indistinguishable from other recent disputes where the Supreme Court temporarily let Trump’s firings stand.
And that’s where the real fight lies. Humphrey’s Executor — the 1935 ruling that protected FTC commissioners from at-will removal by Franklin D. Roosevelt — has long been a thorn in the side of executive power.
In recent years, the Court has chipped away at the doctrine insulating “independent” agencies, signaling an openness to overturning or narrowing it. Legal observers say Slaughter’s lawsuit could force the Court to confront that precedent head-on, in what might be the most direct test yet of presidential removal power.
Meanwhile, Trump isn’t limiting his campaign to the FTC. He recently removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations, a move Cook is challenging in court. That case raises its own constitutional questions since the Fed has traditionally been considered even more insulated than agencies like the FTC or labor boards.
