A U.S. flag flutters at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

The Supreme Court ruled on June 29 that President Donald Trump acted within his authority when he fired a member of the Federal Trade Commission, marking a significant win for his view of executive power.

In a 6–3 decision, the court’s majority overruled a landmark precedent limiting the president’s power to fire federal officials.

The case, Trump v. Slaughter, focused on FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter’s argument that Trump violated federal law when he removed her last year.

More specifically, she said his removal was not based on neglect or one of the other reasons Congress said could be used as a basis to fire a commissioner.

She also pointed to a landmark Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.

In that case, the Supreme Court said that former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrongly fired another commissioner. It also disagreed that Roosevelt’s authority under Article II of the Constitution allowed him to override Congress’s limits on firings.

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This is a developing news story and will be updated.

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