The Supreme Court ruled Monday that President Donald Trump can remove Rebecca Slaughter from the Federal Trade Commission, dismantling decades of limits on presidential control over independent regulators. But in a closely related ruling, the Court blocked Tru
By the time the Supreme Court’s Monday decisions landed, the battle wasn’t just about two names—Rebecca Slaughter and Lisa Cook. It was about who the president can reach when the government says certain agencies are meant to stand at arm’s length.
In one ruling, the Court overturned nearly nine decades of precedent and held that President Donald Trump can fire Slaughter from the Federal Trade Commission. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote both opinions.
The other decision carved out a warning label for at least one institution: the Federal Reserve. The Court blocked Trump’s effort to remove Lisa Cook, a Fed governor, even as it opened the door wider for presidents to terminate employees of other independent agencies and commissions.
Trump reacted quickly on Truth Social. calling it a “BIG WIN” in what he described as the “Slaughter Case.” He said the ruling confirmed “Presidential Power” to remove “Executive Branch Officers and Agency Appointees” under Article II. He also wrote that it was “one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers. ” and said it was “an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling.”.
The Slaughter ruling marks a dramatic shift in how executive power is viewed. The Court’s majority said it expanded presidential authority over independent regulators, allowing termination of those officials—something the Court said older precedent had constrained.
At the center of that shift was the Court’s decision to overrule Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a 1935 precedent that had limited presidential interference with independent agencies. Monday’s case instead moved the legal line toward the president’s ability to control executive branch officers and appointees.
The decision split 6-3 along ideological lines. In dissent. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the Court “undoes centuries of political practice” and concluded that “all three branches of Government have been acting in open defiance of the Constitution all this time.” She added: “Its conclusion is wrong.”.
For all the sweep of the Slaughter ruling, the Cook case was a boundary—one the Court drew with careful language about institutional difference.
In the related decision involving the Federal Reserve, the Court ruled 5-4 that the Fed’s role is unique. As a result, the president is not allowed to fire governors of the central bank.
The dispute reached the Court after Trump attempted in 2025 to remove Lisa Cook, a Biden appointee. Trump argued Cook committed mortgage fraud by saying she claimed two homes as her primary residence in order to get lower interest rates. Cook denied the allegation.
Cook sued to keep her position. Her argument focused on the consequences of the legal principle Trump sought to apply: if a president could fire a Fed governor without cause. she said. it could erode the Fed’s independence. She also pointed out that she would have been the first governor removed by a president in the Fed’s history.
The Court ruled Cook can stay in office—for now—at least until her lawsuit is resolved.
What makes Monday’s twin decisions so consequential is the line the Court both drew and refused to blur. The Court told presidents they can remove officials like Slaughter at the FTC. reversing the idea that an independent agency can be insulated from dismissal. But it preserved an exception—at least for the moment—for the Federal Reserve. leaving Cook in place while her case proceeds.
Taken together. the rulings redraw a map of executive power over independent oversight agencies. with one major stop sign for the central bank. Trump’s victory is real in the Slaughter case, and the Fed’s protection is real in the Cook case. How lasting those boundaries are—especially as lawsuits continue and more officials look to the logic of Monday’s opinions—may be the next test for the Court’s new approach.
Supreme Court presidential power independent agencies Federal Trade Commission Rebecca Slaughter Federal Reserve Lisa Cook Humphrey’s Executor Article II Truth Social Sonia Sotomayor John Roberts