Free Republic

The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Trump to remove a Federal Trade Commission commissioner and agreed to resolve long-standing constitutional questions about White House authority over independent agencies. In an unsigned emergency order, the justices said they would permit the dismissal of Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter while the case proceeds. They also agreed to hear arguments in December, signaling that the Court is prepared to revisit—and possibly overturn—a 1935 ruling that limited presidential authority over the FTC and similar commissions. Trump had removed Ms. Slaughter, a Democratic commissioner, earlier this year, contending that the statutory protections...

Administration officials and members of billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service — aided by local and federal law enforcement agencies — seized the institute’s privately owned headquarters in March and summarily removed its leaders.“The President’s efforts here to take over an organization outside of those bounds, contrary to statute established by Congress and by acts of force and threat using local and federal law enforcement officers, represented a gross usurpation of power and a way of conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized the committed leadership and employees of USIP, who deserved better,” Howell wrote in her 102-page opinion.The judge said...