The Supreme Court just handed the president a skeleton key to every independent regulatory agency in the federal government. And the crypto industry should be paying very close attention.
In a 6-3 decision issued June 29, the Court ruled in Trump v. Slaughter (No. 25-332) that statutory for-cause removal protections for FTC commissioners violate the Constitution’s separation of powers. Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion, which explicitly overturned Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a 1935 precedent that had stood for over nine decades.
What actually happened
The case traces back to March 18, 2025, when President Trump dismissed FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter without citing the statutory cause that had traditionally been required for such removals. Slaughter challenged the firing, and a lower court ordered her reinstatement.
The Supreme Court stayed that reinstatement on September 22, 2025, in a preliminary 6-3 vote that foreshadowed the eventual outcome. Oral arguments were heard on December 8, 2025, and the final ruling landed this week.
