President Donald Trump on Monday celebrated what he called a landmark Supreme Court victory after the justices expanded presidential authority to remove leaders of independent federal agencies.
"BIG WIN just moments ago at the Supreme Court, in the Slaughter Case, confirming Presidential Power in our Country to remove Executive Branch Officers and Agency Appointees, or Representatives, under Article II," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president called the 6-3 ruling "Historic and Unprecedented," adding that it was "one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers."
"It is such an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling," Trump wrote. "Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
The Supreme Court ruled that Trump lawfully fired Democrat Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, overturning the court's landmark 1935 decision in Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which had limited a president's ability to remove leaders of certain independent agencies without cause.
According to Reuters, the ruling invalidates statutory tenure protections for FTC commissioners enacted by Congress more than a century ago and significantly broadens presidential authority over executive branch officials.
The case stemmed from Trump's March 2025 dismissal of Slaughter, whom he removed over policy differences.
Lower federal courts had blocked the firing, relying on the 1935 precedent that allowed Congress to shield certain independent agency officials from removal except for reasons such as neglect of duty or malfeasance.
The Supreme Court reversed those decisions, concluding that Article II of the Constitution gives the president greater authority to supervise and remove executive branch officers.
The ruling represents a major victory for advocates of the "unitary executive" theory, a constitutional doctrine embraced by the Trump administration that holds the president possesses broad authority over the executive branch and should be able to remove agency officials who exercise executive power.
Reuters noted the court emphasized that its decision should not be interpreted as affecting the independence of the Federal Reserve, which the justices described as having a unique historical status.
The FTC is one of more than two dozen independent federal agencies whose leaders have traditionally enjoyed statutory protection from removal without cause.
The decision could have broad implications for agencies including the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board.
During oral arguments, the court's liberal justices warned that expanding presidential removal authority could weaken Congress' intent to have independent experts oversee important areas such as financial regulation, labor policy, and consumer protection.
The conservative majority, however, sided with the Trump administration's argument that the modern FTC exercises substantial executive authority and therefore falls under the president's constitutional power to oversee the executive branch.
The decision marks one of the most significant Supreme Court rulings on presidential power in decades and delivers another major legal victory for Trump's administration.