Supreme Court Signals Support for Trump Admin in Landmark FTC Firing Case

townhall.com ^ | December 08, 2025 | Dmitri Bolt

[V_TWIN]

The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in the case of Trump v. Slaughter, which centers on whether the president has the authority to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission without cause. A ruling in favor of the Trump administration would overturn a nearly century-old precedent. The Court seems poised to rule in favor of allowing the president to fire, without cause, members of independent executive agencies.

Oral arguments lasted only 2.5 hours, as the Court's conservative majority appeared favorable to the administration's arguments, with Justice Neil Gorsuch arguing that those independent agencies constitute an improper “fourth branch of government," unaccountable to both the Executive and Legislative branches.

Justice Kavanaugh was the only conservative Justice to voice concern about the administration's view, expressing worry that a ruling in favor of Trump would jeopardize the independence of the Fed’s Board of Governors. That independence typically prevents the fast-paced political environment of the United States from drastically affecting monetary policy, which is supposed to be more long-term.

[Carry_Okie]

The FTC is an administrative function, exercising executive powers. The President is the chief executive.

Nuff said.

The very idea of an “independent agency” renders zero accountability. It is an abomination to self-government.

[bert]

Unmentioned so far on the thread is that the gambit was an attempt by the Congress to take power away from the Ex3ecutive branch.

SCOTUS will apparently rule the move was invalid

[Hattie]

Best to wait for actual decision from SC. Dem media will scream for a month if decision they are telling us is going for Trump then doesn’t.

[TheDon]

Agreed.

There is no such thing as “independent executive agencies” under the US Constitution.

President Trump’s intentional restoration of executive branch authority from the administrative state is a step in the right direction.

[grobdriver]

That independence typically prevents the fast-paced political environment of the United States from drastically affecting monetary policy, which is supposed to be more long-term.

On the other hand, one could argue that when you have an idiot in charge, like Biden, and someone with a little sense (or a lot) is elected to turn it around, what we don't need is yahoos claiming "independence" and doing what they want.
Monetary policy should be made by elected officials according to the political environment. Hello? Executive Branch?

We voted for change. Make it happen.

[pierrem15]

There have been a lot of hints that the old precedent Humphrey's Executor allowing "independent" agencies will be tossed.

Jackson-Brown's rant in its defense was enough to show why: as Kavanaugh asked afterwards, could Congress make a cabinet secretary "independent" of the President? Of course not.

Congress' role is limited to funding, granting authority, and the "advice and consent" of the Senate. That's it. Once an office is established, it's under the control of the President.

[pierrem15]

I would add that control of the currency is given to Congress: Nixon's removal of the Bretton Woods gold exchange mechanism removed that control and gave it (unconstitutionally) to the Federal Reserve who control the currency's value through interest rates.

Monetarist doctrine & the Fed's control of the currency are unconstitutional and a consequence of Congress' abdication of responsibility.

[nwrep]

I liked the dress Ana Kasparian was wearing (in another article on Townhall.)

[Carry_Okie]

There is no such thing as “independent executive agencies” under the US Constitution.

On the flip side, there is no such thing as an "administrative law judge" either.

[Lockbox]

I liked the dress Ana Kasparian was wearing (in another article on Townhall.)

and those shoes!

[MCSETots]

“At the heart of the case is President Trump’s decision to fire Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat, without citing any cause. Her term was set to expire in 2029.”

At the heart of the matter is whether POTUS (if he is DJT or just a Republican) can fire members of the swamp (if they are liberals/Democrats).

[SomeCallMeTim]

Exactly. These deep staters , who can’t be fired, are completely unaccountable. That was never supposed to be the way our system functions

[AnotherUnixGeek]

There are three branches of the federal government. Everything under the Executive Branch answers to the POTUS. There is no “independent” fourth branch consisting of unelected bureaucrats.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Executive is executive and the President is the chief executive.

[bobbo666]

That doofus Kagan went on and on about how Exec bureaucracies are not subject to Pres if they create rules — that makes them part of Congress and DJTrump cannot touch them.