The Supreme Court on Thursday granted President Donald Trump a major win in his longstanding quest to fire the heads of independent agencies under the executive branch, allowing him to fire members of the Merit Systems Protection Board and the National Labor Relations Board.
Six Republican-appointed justices agreed that the burdens that would stem from precluding Trump from firing Gwynne Wilcox and Cathis Harris, two of the agency board members, would outweigh the relief sought by the pair, who were fighting to keep their jobs at the respective agencies.
“Because the Constitution vests the executive power in the President, he may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf, subject to narrow exceptions recognized by our precedents,” the majority held in a 6-3 decision, citing the high court’s 2020 precedent in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Democratic-appointed Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, arguing that the order granting the president his request to stay lower court rulings “is nothing short of extraordinary.”
DC CIRCUIT PANEL SKEPTICAL OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ABILITY TO FIRE INDEPENDENT OFFICIALS
While the decision is a major win for Trump, the majority’s opinion noted that the leverage given to Trump in this case does not extend to every corner of the federal government, noting that the same outcome would not arise in a dispute over removing officials at the Federal Reserve.
“The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States,” the majority wrote.
This is a developing story and will be updated.