Supreme Court Justices Expand Presidential Power Over Regulators

The Supreme Court expanded presidential power by affirming President Trump’s ability to fire most independent regulators. The court’s 6-to-3 ruling to broadly allow the firing of federal regulators, with the three liberal justices dissenting, is a significant shift in power from Congress to the president that could usher in a drastic change to the government’s structure by giving the president more direct control over independent agencies. The justices ruled in two separate but related cases. One involved President Trump’s efforts to fire Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission who did not align with his agenda, and another involved his efforts to fire the Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, whom the president had targeted as he pressured the central bank to lower interest rates.