The Supreme Court issued two decisions that redefine the scope of presidential power over independent federal agencies. On the one hand, he endorsed that President Donald Trump can dismiss officials from regulatory bodies created by Congress, thus reinforcing the authority of the Executive. However, in a separate ruling, he temporarily protected the permanence of a Federal Reserve (Fed) governor by considering that the independence of the central bank deserves different treatment.

The most relevant resolution corresponds to the Trump v. Slaughter, in which the conservative majority of the Supreme Court allowed the dismissal of Rebecca Slaughter, a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who had been removed by Trump in March 2025.

Slaughter challenged her dismissal, arguing that she was protected by the precedent Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935), a landmark decision that for nine decades limited the presidential power to remove commissioners of independent agencies except for specific causes established by Congress, such as negligence, inefficiency or misconduct.

However, the majority of the Supreme Court concluded that the president should have greater margin to control officials who exercise executive functions.

With this criterion, the highest court substantially modifies the interpretation in force since 1935 and makes it easier for future presidents to replace members of regulatory organizations considered independent.

The Center for American Progress (CAP) organization harshly criticized the resolution and warned that it could weaken the autonomy of institutions in charge of supervising strategic sectors of the economy.

“Today’s sweeping decision destroys the independence of crucial federal agencies and weakens their ability to protect the health, safety and economic well-being of Americans.”

“This ruling, which overturns nearly a century of established jurisprudence, allows the president to exert undue political pressure on agencies that Congress designed to protect them from such coercion,” he added.

The Fed is left out of the new criteria

In a second decision issued this same day, the Supreme Court established an important exception by preserving, for now, the permanence of Lisa Cook, governor of the Federal Reserve, who was dismissed by Trump in August under accusations related to alleged mortgage fraud.

The high court determined that Cook may remain in office while litigation continues over the legality of his dismissal, considering that the institutional nature of the Fed requires a different analysis than that applied to other federal agencies.

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