Supreme Court Rules Trump Lawfully Fired FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter Without Cause

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that President Trump acted lawfully when he fired former Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter without cause, delivering a major victory for presidential authority over executive branch officials.

In a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court held that legal protections preventing presidents from removing FTC commissioners at will are unconstitutional, overturning decades of precedent limiting a president’s removal power.

“Although it is up to the Senate to decide whether to confirm those with whom the President would prefer to work, neither Congress nor the courts may saddle him with those with whom he cannot work,” Roberts wrote.

“Subordinates who exercise the President’s power are subject to removal by him. Then, and only then, can they remain accountable to the President, and the President to the people.”

Trump dismissed Slaughter and fellow Democratic FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya in March 2025, with the White House arguing that their continued service was “inconsistent with Administration priorities.”

Slaughter challenged the firing, citing the Federal Trade Commission Act, which states that commissioners may only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

A federal district court and a D.C. appeals court both sided with Slaughter, but the Supreme Court stayed those rulings in September 2025 while the case proceeded.

Monday’s decision reverses those lower court rulings and significantly expands presidential authority to remove executive branch officials, marking one of the most consequential separation-of-powers decisions in decades.

Trump celebrated the ruling on TRUTH Social shortly after it was issued.

“BIG WIN just moments ago at the Supreme Court, in the Slaughter Case, confirming Presidential Power in our Country to remove Executive Branch Officers and Agency Appointees, or Representatives, under Article II,” the president wrote.

“This Decision was long sought by United States Presidents, dating all the way back to the 1930s. It is such an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling, one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

🚨 BREAKING — TRUMP WIN AT THE SUPREME COURT: SCOTUS rules President Trump CAN fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, who attempted to stifle the Trump agenda

That TOTALLY transforms the President’s power over these fake “independent commissions” within the executive branch,… pic.twitter.com/r7537xn7no

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 29, 2026

More over at The New York Post:

Supreme Court upholds firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter https://t.co/LHP9QNhMFK pic.twitter.com/TdQkf6QXuo

— New York Post (@nypost) June 29, 2026