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The Supreme Court on Monday appeared poised to make it easier for President Trump to fire independent government officials despite laws meant to insulate them from political pressure in what would be a major expansion of presidential power.
Hearing a case dealing with Mr. Trump’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, members of the court’s conservative majority seemed ready to overturn or strictly limit a landmark decision from 1935. That precedent said Congress could put limits on the president’s authority to remove some executive branch officials.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who is almost always in the majority in significant cases, said the F.T.C. that opinion shielded 90 years ago looked nothing like the modern commission, which he said exercises enormous executive power, an authority the Constitution reserves for the president. He referred to the 1935 precedent as a “dried husk.”
Even as they appeared receptive to the Trump administration’s maximalist position, several key justices seemed intent on making sure that the court’s eventual decision in this case did not threaten the independence of the Federal Reserve. The justices will hear a separate case dealing with Mr. Trump’s attempt to fire a Fed governor in January.
The court’s three liberal justices warned of the far-reaching consequences for the structure of the modern government if the majority sided with the Trump administration in the Federal Trade Commission matter.
A decision in the president’s favor, they said, would call into question the constitutionality of job protections extended to leaders of more than two dozen other agencies Congress has charged with protecting consumers, workers, and the environment.
Justice Elena Kagan said such a ruling would “put massive, uncontrolled, unchecked power in the hands of the president.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor told the administration’s lawyer that “you’re asking us to destroy the structure of government” and to take away from Congress its ability to insulate independent agencies from political pressures.
In response, D. John Sauer, the solicitor general, said that “the sky will not fall” if the justices give the president this new power. “In fact, our entire government will move toward accountability to the people,” he said.
Since returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has fired government watchdogs, leaders of independent agencies, and rank-and-file federal workers, drawing multiple legal challenges.
The Supreme Court has generally allowed the firings to take effect through temporary emergency orders. Monday’s case presents the first opportunity for the court to issue a conclusive ruling on the underlying legal questions of Mr. Trump’s firings.
Next month, the justices will separately consider whether the president has the power to fire Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve Board governor. The justices have allowed Ms. Cook to remain in her post for now, signaling that the central bank may be uniquely insulated from presidential interference because of its history.
At issue on Monday was Mr. Trump’s firing in March of Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democratic member of the F.T.C. Mr. Trump said he was removing her because she did not align with his agenda, despite a law that says the president can remove commissioners only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Ms. Slaughter promptly sued.
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The Supreme Court in Washington.Credit…Al Drago for The New York Times
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