As you will recall, President Trump fired Democratic FTC Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya on March 18, 2025. Both Slaughter and Bedoya sued for reinstatement and backpay on March 27, and Slaughter was reinstated on July 17.
That reinstatement was short-lived. On September 8, Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts temporarily stayed Commissioner Slaughter’s reinstatement. And, yesterday (September 22), the Supreme Court extended the stay and accepted the case for hearing in December.
The Court identified two questions:
- Whether the statutory removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission violate the separation of powers and, if so, whether Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U. S. 602 (1935), should be overruled.
- Whether a federal court may prevent a person’s removal from public office, either through relief at equity or at law.
So stay tuned.
As I previously noted, I question whether the Supreme Court’s decision — whichever way it goes — will have much impact on the FTC’s actions over the next three and a half years. With a three-Republican majority, any Democratic dissent is purely symbolic. The true impact lies in its implications for presidential powers.