US Supreme Court Gives Trump Power to Fire Agency Chiefs, Overturning 90-Year Precedent

The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled that President Donald Trump—and all future presidents—can fire the leaders of independent federal agencies at will. The decision in *Trump v Slaughter* overturns nearly 90 years of legal precedent that limited presidential control over such agencies. The case began when Trump fired Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an independent agency that enforces consumer protection and antitrust laws. Slaughter called the ruling “profoundly disappointing.” Legal and labor experts say the decision upends settled constitutional law. It replaces a system of job protections for agency chiefs with what critics call a “loyalty test,” allowing the president to remove officials who do not share his political views. Trump celebrated the ruling on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling it a “big win.” But labor unions, consumer advocacy groups, and other critics warned the decision could harm democracy by making independent regulators more vulnerable to political pressure. The ruling applies to agencies like the FTC, the Federal Reserve, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which were designed to operate without direct White House interference.