Court Ends For-Cause Removal Protection for FTC Commissioners

The court ruled 6-3 that the president may remove Federal Trade Commission members without stated cause. The decision directly affects Democratic appointee Rebecca Slaughter and reverses the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent that had protected certain agency heads from at-will dismissal.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor read a 49-page dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. She wrote that the majority grants the president “unbridled authority” and will shift power over independent commissions into the executive branch.

Sotomayor stated the ruling replaces “90 years of proven, workable practice” with an undefined theory of executive power. She argued the Constitution’s text, history, and values do not require overturning Humphrey’s Executor. The dissent noted the decision stops short of eliminating the FTC and similar agencies but will change how they operate.

Sotomayor concluded the change recalibrates the balance of power in ways the agencies’ creators sought to prevent.