Supreme Court Overrules 1935 Precedent Limiting Presidential Removal of Agency Heads

The Supreme Court on Monday overruled Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, ending the 1935 precedent that had permitted Congress to limit a president’s power to remove heads of independent agencies. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the 36-page majority opinion. He stated that the earlier decision conflicted with constitutional structure and that the president alone holds executive power.

The case arose after President Trump sent an email in March 2025 to Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter stating her continued service was inconsistent with administration priorities. Slaughter, who had been appointed to a seven-year term, challenged the removal in lower courts.

Lower courts sided with Slaughter based on the 1935 precedent. The Trump administration appealed, arguing that the president should have unrestricted removal authority.

Sotomayor delivered an oral dissent on behalf of the three liberal justices. She wrote that the decision gives the president power unknown even to the English Crown and elevates the executive above the other branches. The court carved out an exception for the Federal Reserve, citing the long tradition of an independent central bank.

Slaughter said at a news conference that the exception gives Wall Street special treatment while other agencies lose protections. Roberts noted that the court had been moving away from Humphrey’s Executor in prior decisions from 2010 and 2020. The ruling returns to the 1926 Myers v.

United States standard that allowed presidential removal without congressional consent.