The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 29, 2026, that President Donald Trump had the authority to fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter without cause. The decision doesn’t just settle one personnel dispute. It rewires the relationship between the White House and roughly two dozen independent regulatory agencies that have operated with significant autonomy for decades.
The case is Trump v. Slaughter, and its consequences extend well beyond one commissioner’s job title.
What the court actually decided
The ruling takes direct aim at Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a 1935 precedent that shielded agency commissioners from presidential removal unless the President could cite specific cause: inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. In plain terms, that 91-year-old decision meant a sitting president couldn’t simply fire a regulator because they disagreed with the regulatory philosophy.
The backstory: Trump fired Slaughter in March 2025. The Court issued an emergency stay that September, temporarily allowing the removal to stand while the case worked its way through the system. Oral arguments were held on December 8, 2025, and the conservative majority made its leanings clear during those proceedings. The June 2026 ruling made it official.
