The Supreme Court rules 6-3 that Trump can fire independent regulators at will, overruling Humphrey’s Executor in all but name

What happened

On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court held 6-3 that the FTC Act’s for-cause removal protection violates the separation of powers, upholding Trump’s firing of Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. Trump had fired her in March 2025, a Democratic member, telling her only that her service was inconsistent with the administration’s priorities.

Chief Justice Roberts wrote that “if anything more is left of Humphrey’s, the Court overrules it.” Officers who exercise executive power are removable by the president, he said, and the FTC, which administers some 80 statutes, performs the essence of executing the law. The 1935 precedent had shielded independent agencies.

Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, called the decision grievously wrong. Her dissent said the Court had given the president a power unknown even to the English Crown. The same day the Court ruled 5-4 against letting Trump remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while her case proceeds.

Who benefited

The president now controls at will the multimember commissions that regulate antitrust, consumer products, workplace discrimination and civil-service appeals. Companies regulated by those agencies gained a way to influence enforcement through the White House rather than through bipartisan boards.

Who wanted something

The Trump administration fired Democratic commissioners across several agencies in 2025 and asked the Court to overrule Humphrey’s Executor outright. Conservative legal advocates had sought the result for decades under the unitary-executive theory, and the Solicitor General argued the case on that ground.

Who lost out

Congress lost the power to insulate regulators from presidential pressure, which it had used since 1914. The minority party lost its guaranteed seats on commissions, since presidents may now leave them vacant. Consumers and workers lost regulators who could rule on the merits without fear of removal.

Why it matters

Every independent agency except, for now, the Federal Reserve answers to the White House. The ruling casts doubt on removal protections at the EEOC and other boards. Regulatory power over the economy now sits in one office.

Sources Supreme Court of the United States (primary)NPRSupreme Court of the United States (primary)