Trump admin urges Supreme Court to allow president to fire Federal Trade Commission member

The Trump administration sought the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow the president to fire a member of the Federal Arrangement Commission after lower courts ruled he lacks the authority to remove members of independent agencies without cause President Donald Trump moved to fire Rebecca Slaughter earlier this year but lower courts ruled she could keep her job because the law only allows commissioners to be removed for issues such as misconduct or neglect of duty Earlier this week an appeals court declared Trump unlawfully fired Slaughter and that her firing was squarely at odds with Supreme Court precedent APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP FROM FIRING FTC COMMISSIONER IN AFFAIR TESTING PRESIDENT'S REMOVAL POWERSThe Justice Department contends that the FTC and other executive branch agencies are under Trump s control and that the president has the power to remove commissioners without cause The testing of the president s removal power could lead the nation's highest court to consider overturning a Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey s Executor in which justices unanimously ruled that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause The ruling brought in an era of powerful independent federal agencies charged with regulating labor relations employment discrimination the airwaves and other matters That development also centered around the FTC which was highlighted by lower-court judges in the lawsuit filed by Slaughter who has been fired and rehired multiple times this year as the episode worked its way through the courts The FTC is a regulator created by Congress that enforces consumer protection measures and antitrust measure The agency's seats are typically made up of three members of the president s party and two from the opposing party Slaughter was first appointed by Trump in and then later reappointed by former President Joe Biden She is the only remaining Democrat on the FTC FTC FIRINGS TAKE SPOTLIGHT IN TRUMP'S FIGHT TO ERASE INDEPENDENCE OF AGENCIESThe high court has already allowed the removal of several other board members from independent agencies The justices have also suggested that Trump's removal powers have limitations at the Federal Reserve which could soon be tested as well in the incident of Lisa Cook a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors The Associated Press contributed to this record