The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to overturn a 1935 precedent that limited the president's authority to remove certain senior officials at independent regulatory agencies, according to Reuters. The decision strengthens presidential control over federal bodies designed to operate with some independence.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday expanded presidential authority by striking down a 1935 legal precedent that had limited the president's power to fire senior officials at independent federal agencies. The 6-3 ruling, reported by Reuters, reverses the precedent from *Humphrey's Executor v. United States*, which had restricted the president's removal power over members of independent regulatory commissions such as the Federal Trade Commission.
The decision builds on a thread The Zioneer has been tracking: on June 29, the Court ruled in a separate case that President Trump could fire a Federal Trade Commission member, applying a narrower holding. Today's ruling broadens that principle to cover the structure of independent agencies more generally, giving the president direct authority over personnel in bodies Congress had designed to operate with some independence from the executive branch.
The ruling aligns with a broader push by the Trump administration to consolidate executive control over the federal bureaucracy. It follows similar legislative efforts in Israel, where a bill allowing the government to fire senior officials including the Mossad director and attorney general passed a preliminary Knesset reading earlier this month.
The immediate practical impact: the president may now replace commissioners at agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board without cause, potentially shifting regulatory policy toward administration priorities. The ruling is expected to face challenges over its implications for agency independence and congressional power.
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