WASHINGTON— The Supreme Court on Monday appeared poised to further expand presidential authority over independent agencies during oral arguments in Trump v. Slaughter, a case with sweeping implications across the regulatory landscape, including for former NCUA Board Members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka’s lawsuit challenging their removal by the Trump Administration last year.
According to POLITICO, the Court’s conservative majority pressed hard against long-standing protections that have traditionally shielded leaders of independent agencies from being fired without cause.
Several justices questioned the continued validity of the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent that established those safeguards, with Chief Justice John Roberts suggesting the decision’s foundation has eroded over time, POLITICO said.
Liberal justices warned that overturning the precedent could dramatically weaken the independence of federal regulators. The case directly involves the firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter but is widely viewed as having sweeping implications for agencies including the NCUA, CFPB, and Federal Reserve, POLITICO reported.
Also, as CUToday.info reported, a federal appeals court delivered a significant setback Friday to Harper and Otsuka in their lawsuit. In a 2–1 ruling, a D.C. Circuit panel held that the president may remove members of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board regardless of statutory protections requiring cause for dismissal.