- Trump seeks Supreme Court approval to fire independent agency officials.
- Case challenges 90-year-old precedent limiting presidential removal powers.
- Outcome could impact Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s job security.
U.S. President Donald Trump is challenging long-standing legal protections for independent federal agency officials, petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court for authority to dismiss top regulators.
The move targets two specific officials but carries broader implications for other agency heads, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump’s request brings back legal debates over presidential powers and challenges a 90-year-old precedent that limits executive authority over independent regulators.
Trump’s legal team submitted an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to permit the immediate removal of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris. The request follows a federal appeals court ruling allowing both officials to retain their positions while ongoing litigation proceeds.
The central argument focuses on interpreting the term “for cause” found in federal law, which restricts the president’s ability to remove certain agency leaders without a valid justification. Trump’s administration contends that such restrictions undermine the president’s constitutional authority to direct executive branch operations.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing Trump, pointed out in the filing that the president should not be compelled to keep officials who oppose the administration’s policy goals in place. Sauer urged the Supreme Court to bypass the typical appeals process and schedule a hearing during its current term, ending in June or July.
Revisiting a New Deal-Era Precedent
The case challenges the 1935 Supreme Court decision in Humphrey’s Executor, a ruling that permitted Congress to insulate certain high-ranking officials from removal by the president. That major case laid the foundation for creating numerous independent federal agencies.
Recent Supreme Court decisions have restricted the scope of Humphrey’s Executor. In 2020, the court ruled that the president could remove the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at will, citing concerns about constitutional separation of powers.
Trump’s legal challenge aims to extend that ruling’s reasoning to multi-member boards like the NLRB and the MSPB. The administration argues that limitations on removal authority interfere with the president’s ability to ensure that executive branch officials align with administration policy.
Broader Implications for Federal Governance
While the current dispute centers on Wilcox and Harris, the case’s outcome could affect other independent agency leaders, including Jerome Powell, the current Chair of the Federal Reserve. Trump has previously expressed dissatisfaction with Powell’s monetary policy decisions, and legal experts suggest that the administration’s position may lay the foundation for future efforts to remove him.
The administration has also defended against separate litigation brought by two former Democratic Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioners, which Trump dismissed. That case presents another opportunity for the court to revisit or limit Humphrey’s Executor.
