US Supreme Court to consider whether Trump may fire Democratic FTC member

Despite congressional job protections for the position, the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving President Donald Trump’s decision to fire a Democratic Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member.

The high court made its decision on Monday, effectively allowing Rebecca Slaughter to remain confined to her job at the consumer protection and antitrust agency while the case is pending.

The case will be heard in December, according to the court’s announcement.

The Supreme Court upheld Trump’s ability to fire Slaughter, albeit temporarily, earlier this month by granting an emergency stay.

The court’s order overturned a Washington, DC-based US District Judge Loren AliKhan’s ruling that prevented the FTC commissioner from being fired before her term was up.

In order to give the court more time to consider the administration’s request regarding the judge’s order, Chief Justice John Roberts on September 8 paused AliKhan’s order, which allowed Trump to keep Slaughter out of her post.

The Republican president’s contention centers on his or her ability to fire government agency heads who are subject to removal protections, which allow some organizations to exercise their independence from the president.

A president may resign FTC commissioners only for cause, such as inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office, but not for policy differences. Officials at other independent organizations, including the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board, are subject to similar protections.

Trump moved to fire Slaughter, one of only two Democratic commissioners, in March. Democratic senators and antimonopoly organizations criticized the firings as being intended to eliminate the agency’s opposition to large corporations.

Despite the job protections for these posts, the Supreme Court allowed Trump’s dismissals in May while legal action was being brought against those removals.

The court ruled that the administration “is likely to demonstrate that both the NLRB and MSPB exercise considerable executive power” and that the US Constitution allows the president to fire government officials who lacked executive power on his behalf.

The court granted Trump the right to remove three Democratic members of the top consumer product safety watchdog while a legal challenge to their removal proceeds.

Lower courts have repeatedly resisted the administration’s request to allow the Supreme Court to implement Trump’s policies. Since Trump’s return to the presidency in January, the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has sided with the administration in almost every case it has been asked to review.

Additionally, Trump wants to sack Lisa Cook, the governor of the Federal Reserve.

The FTC has operated with three Republicans and no Democratic members for the majority of its time since Slaughter and her fellow Democratic commissioner were removed in March.