The Supreme Court on Monday said in a brief order it will consider expanding President Donald Trump’s ability to change personnel working for independent agencies in a case related to the firing of a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission.
The case centers around Rebecca Slaughter, who was briefly reinstated to the FTC by lower courts after she was fired by Trump in March.
She, along with another Democratic commissioner who was fired, have challenged their dismissals from independent agencies. The two commissioners were relying on a 1935 Supreme Court case, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which also involved an FTC commissioner.
Slaughter briefly returned to the FTC earlier this month after a divided appeals court reinstated her. The judges argued Trump was overstepping his authority and fired Slaughter without cause. The Trump administration then brought the case to the Supreme Court.
On Sept. 8, Chief Justice John Roberts said in an order that Slaughter could be removed from her position temporarily while the case plays out in court. At the time, it was unknown how the justices would respond to the administration’s emergency request to give Trump the ability to fire employees from independent agencies.
The Supreme Court on Monday said it would allow Trump to proceed with Slaughter’s firing, with the court’s three liberal justices dissenting. Justice Elena Kagan argued the court was allowing Trump to bypass Congress’ desires to protect agencies from partisan interference.
Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the decision in a post online, saying the Department of Justice’s attorneys secured a “significant” victory that protects Trump’s executive authority. She said the decision affirms the administration’s argument that “the President, not a lower court judge, has hiring and firing power over executive officials.”
The court also said it would take up a broader case in December, which would examine potentially overturning 90-year precedent stemming from the Humphrey’s Executor case that has prevented presidents from firing independent agency employees without cause and over political differences.
The Supreme Court has already allowed Trump to carry out several high-profile firings while lawsuits make their way through the courts, which may show the justices’ intent to say Trump has the power to remove officials from independent agencies at will.