The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the President may remove Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioners at will, overturning its 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. The Court held that statutory limits allowing the President to remove FTC commissioners only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office” unconstitutionally restrict the President’s executive authority. The decision significantly expands presidential control over independent federal agencies and is expected to affect other multimember regulatory bodies, including the NLRB. But the majority opinion emphasizes that the ruling does not necessarily apply to the Federal Reserve, citing the central bank’s “distinct historical tradition.”
In a 49-page dissent authored by Justice Sotomayor, the Court’s three liberal justices said, “Dozens of independent commissions are now likely to become purely executive agencies, shifting tremendous power over broad swaths of American life into the President’s hands.” And they warned, “The one thing that does appear to be clear going forward is that chaos will follow.”