Trump administration asks Supreme Court to let him fire member of Federal Trade Commission
Breitbart6 days
SCOTUS Grants Trump Temporary Stay on FTC Commissioner Firing
Above: The Federal Trade Commission headquarters building in Washington, D.C. Image copyright: J. David Ake/Getty Images
The Spin
Republican narrative
The president must have complete control over executive branch agencies to ensure democratic accountability and effective governance. Independent agencies like the FTC now wield powers far beyond those in 1935, making them fundamentally different from the limited agency the Supreme Court protected in Humphrey's Executor. Justice Roberts was right to grant the stay, but repeated rulings by lower courts against President Trump reveal a troubling pattern of ongoing judicial politicization and legal malpractice.
Democratic narrative
Firing commissioners without cause destroys the independence Congress specifically designed into these agencies to protect them from political interference. The 90-year-old Humphrey's Executor precedent remains valid law, and the Supreme Court is undermining judicial integrity by making major constitutional decisions through unexplained emergency orders. This relentless bypassing of lower courts highlights a dangerous politicization of justice and weakens the rule of law at every level.