Roberts Questions Limits on Congress as Supreme Court Weighs FTC Removal Powers
The U.S. Supreme Court signaled on December 8, 2025, that it may drastically shift who controls America’s regulatory agencies. During oral arguments in Trump v. Slaughter, Chief Justice John Roberts and other justices pressed lawyers on whether Congress retains the power to design independent commissions whose members enjoy statutory removal protections — or whether such protections run afoul of the Constitution’s separation of powers.
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The case centers on the 2025 firing by President Donald Trump of two Democratic-appointed commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), including Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. Under the FTC’s founding statute, commissioners can only be dismissed “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
For nearly 90 years, the Court has upheld those protections based on the 1935 landmark decision in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, ruling Congress may shield independent agencies from at-will presidential removal if they exercise only quasi-judicial or quasi-legislative power.
But during oral argument — which lasted more than two and a half hours — conservative justices questioned the continuing validity of that doctrine. According to Reuters, some justices described the precedent as outdated and seemed open to rejecting it.
If the Court ultimately rules that such protections violate the separation of powers, the impact could be sweeping. Agencies long considered independent — from the FTC to the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission — could lose their insulation from political pressure. Critics warn that could erode regulatory expertise and stability; supporters say it would restore accountability to elected leadership.
A decision in the case is expected by June 2026. Until then, the question remains: who really runs America’s regulators — Congress’s bipartisan commissions or the presidency?