Supreme Court sets date to hear FTC case, in test of Trump’s firing powers

The Supreme Court on Friday set a date of Dec. 8 to hear oral arguments in a case centered on the president. Donald Trumpthe power to fire heads of independent agencies without cause.

The closely watched legal battle could overturn long-standing legal precedent and further expand the powers of the executive branch. At issue is Trump’s attempt to fire Rebecca Slaughter, the only Democrat on the Federal Trade Commission. Trump fired Slaughter and another Democratic FTC member in March, although that commissioner has since resigned.

Slaughter filed a lawsuit earlier this year to block her dismissal, and a lower court judge ordered that she be temporarily reinstated to her role at the FTC while the case continued to play out on its merits.

The Trump administration appealed the case to the Supreme Court in September. The justices agreed to hear the case and stayed the lower court’s ruling that ordered him reinstated — allowing Trump, for now, to proceed with removing Slaughter from the FTC.

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Supreme Court justices gather inside the House for the State of the Union address, March 7, 2024. (Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The court’s willingness to take up the case is seen by many as a sign that the justices plan to revisit the case. Supreme Court precedent in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States — a 1935 case in which the justices unanimously blocked presidents from removing the heads of independent regulatory agencies without cause and only in limited circumstances.

The justices pointed this out in their instructions to lawyers for the Trump administration and Slaughter.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC, U.S., Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

They ordered both sides to address two key issues in their briefs: whether the FTC’s removal protections for members “violate the separation of powers and, if so, whether Humphrey’s executor should be removed,” and whether a federal court can prevent a person’s removal from public office, “either through equitable relief or at law.”

Their review of the case also comes as the justices grapple with a wave of lawsuits filed this year by other Democratic board members fired by Trump, including National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris, both Democratic appointees. abruptly ended by the Trump administration this year.

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Exterior of the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC on March 7, 2024. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In May, the Supreme Court granted Trump’s request to remove Wilcox and Harris from their respective boards while lower court challenges played out, although the high court did not invoke Humphrey’s executor precedent in the short, unsigned order.

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It also comes as the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in another key case centered on Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, with oral arguments scheduled for January.

The court’s approach in the Slaughter case could indicate how it will handle arguments in Trump’s bid to oust Cook the following month.